Illegal Tobacco Sales

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:13): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Leader of the Government and Attorney-General, who is also representing the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs and the Minister for Health, about illegal tobacco.

Leave granted.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: This government promised to crack down on illegal tobacco sellers with SA Health's, you can call it 'fag busters unit', of just nine inspectors. While there have been raids with thousands of cartons of illegal cigarettes and tobacco products seized, it is not having any deterrent effect because once the inspectors depart with their haul they just stock up again and start trading immediately under the guise of being legitimate convenience stores. They are outsmarting the authorities. The war is being lost along with billions in tax revenue because our laws and enforcement simply are not tough enough. Legitimate retailers in convenience stores tell me they are fed up reporting these rogue sellers dotted around the city and suburbs as nothing happens. Apart from issuing them with fines, they should be shut down immediately with cease trading orders.

Two weeks ago, convenience stores were raided in Rundle Street; two, Rundle East Convenience and Rundle City Convenience, were caught selling illegal cigarettes and vapes. Within two hours, they were back at it and still are today. In fact, a short time ago one of my staff went to those stores and, as luck would have it, managed to get cheap, illegal smokes for $20 and $17—and here they are.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I think the member thinks it's quite funny but it's actually quite a serious issue. They will even sell individual cigarettes, most likely to homeless smokers and young people. At Ultimate Convenience in Bank Street, the staff member was also to able seek out a cigarette for $1—easy-peasy—vapes for $50, but now a more disturbing product is about to hit our shores and there are no laws in place to prevent them being sold to smokers of all ages, although they cannot be legally imported without permits.

'Heat not burn' tobacco sticks are developed by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco. They claim they are safe products but they are really designed to keep people addicted. It works by an electric current in a cylinder heating rather than burning tobacco, so no ash and no smoke, unlike vapes which vaporise nicotine fluid. They are selling quicker than Taylor Swift tickets in 50 countries. Here's how Philip Morris describes them:

They provide adult smokers, who would otherwise continue smoking, with a better alternative to cigarettes through our scientifically-substantiated products.

The jury is out on whether they are safe. My questions to the ministers are:

1. With no success in stopping these rogue traders, will the government now look at tougher laws to suspend or prevent those premises from trading?

2. Is the health minister investigating the sale of these new tobacco sticks, and what can be done about them when Philip Morris and BAT seem to have found a way to skirt around laws in the UK and other countries?

3. What are the health minister and Premier planning to do with a bill passed in this place to make it illegal for young persons born after 2007 ever being able to legally buy tobacco and related products?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question. I will take large parts of that on notice and bring back a detailed reply for the honourable member, which I think the question deserves.

I know that in relation to the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes this government has taken some pretty decisive action. There has been, if my memory serves me correctly—and I will check it when I bring back the answer—in excess of $16 million, something like $16.3 million invested in enforcement to crack down on illegal tobacco and vape sales. I know, as the honourable member said in his question, the relatively small compliance unit in Health now has much more substantial resources within Consumer and Business Services to look at compliance issues.

We have seen very well-publicised raids by the police on some of these premises. We have seen much more excessive use of violence in the Eastern States in relation to illegal tobacco, and I certainly know there have been meetings with legitimate retailers airing their concerns, as the honourable member has indicated, and there have been meetings with legitimate retailers and members of the government which have led to some of the action that has been taken.

In relation to new forms of nicotine, I will pass those questions on to the health minister as well, but I think it's fair to say—and I have discussed this a number of times with the health minister—that he is extremely proactive in taking action against nicotine and cigarettes. I know the member for Kaurna, the Hon. Chris Picton, has over many, many years helped shape policy at the forefront in previous roles that he has held as Chief of Staff to a federal health minister in relation to plain packaging and other initiatives.

I would give the health minister a great deal of credit for the work that he has done over a number of roles that he has held across his time, not just working in the South Australian parliament as health minister but in the federal parliament, to reduce the horrific health effects that nicotine has on the Australian population. It is something he has taken very seriously and been at the forefront of over a number of years. I am happy to bring back more details about what this government is doing after consulting with my colleagues the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs and the health minister.