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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-21 Daily Xml
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TOBACCO CONTROL MEASURES

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse. How are tobacco control measures progressing in South Australia?

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:47): I thank the member for Little Para for this question. I am really pleased to announce that South Australia was recently placed third, with a score of 65 out of 100, at the Australian Medical—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. J.D. HILL: —yes, bronze medal, as my colleague says—at the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Council on Smoking and Health annual National Tobacco Day Control Scoreboard Awards. This was a big improvement on the year before when we received a score of 48 and, in fact, won the Dirty Ashtray Award, something I was absolutely determined we would never do again. We increased our score to 65, which was just a few behind the most successful of the states. Dr Andrew Pesce, the Australian Medical Association federal president, made special mention of South Australia's efforts over the past year. He said:

Special recognition is noted for South Australia for commitment to action and important developments throughout the past year.

I would like to say, and I believe it is the case, that generally these measures are bipartisan. I know a number of members on the other side in both this place and the other place have strong views about reducing the amount of tobacco in our community, and I commend all members for that. South Australia also received praise for its comprehensive legislation on smoking restrictions in enclosed public places and the great initiatives for smoking cessation support such as Quit-on-Q.

The tobacco industry was awarded the 2011 Dirty Ashtray Award 'for its desperate and deceptive campaign to oppose effective public health measures', in particular, its campaign against plain packages. I note in passing that the federal health minister, Nicola Roxon, has been strongly attacked by the tobacco industry but has won a World Health Organisation award for this initiative.

Western Australia was ranked as the best state for tobacco control because in their 40 to 49 year—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.D. HILL: Madam Speaker, I thought it was bipartisan but I might be wrong. If the members opposite do not support these initiatives I am happy for them to say so. Western Australia has won on a number of occasions and it certainly did again this year because in their 40 to 49-year-old age group only 16.8 per cent are daily smokers compared to 24 per cent in our state. They have made massive improvements over recent years in this area and we need to catch up. A lot of that work was the initiative of my former colleague, the Minister for Health from that state, the Hon. Jim McGinty, who was a zealot when it came to anti-smoking initiatives.

South Australia is now implementing many of the same successful measures. In the past year, the government has announced that point-of-sale retail displays will be banned by 2012. Specialist tobacconists will have a couple of years extra to remove point-of-sale displays. We have also increased social marketing, which has had a demonstrated effect on reducing smoking prevalence and uptake. We have maintained an average of 700 targeted audience rating points (TARPs) per month since last July, which is the level the experts say is required to have an impact on smoking rates.

On World No Tobacco Day last year, all South Australian health facilities became smoke-free, including, I am pleased to say, facilities such as James Nash House, which is a forensic mental health facility. I spoke to someone in James Nash House, and he said how terrific it was that the policy had come into place because it meant he was now healthier as result of it. These are mostly people who smoke a lot: they are all now smoke-free. We also note that 39 per cent of all adult smokers also live with mental illness.

On 31 May this year, we launched the South Australian Tobacco Control Strategy 2011-16, a five-year strategy. Smoking is still the main cause of ill health and premature death in South Australia, killing 22 people each week—on average, three people a day die as a result of smoking-related illness. It costs the state taxpayers around $2.5 billion each year. In fact, it is estimated that one in every two smokers will die of a smoking-related illness. The South Australian Tobacco Control Strategy focuses on five key areas:

1. Reducing smoking prevalence across the state's population; that is a broad goal.

2. Reducing smoking prevalence in Aboriginal people. It is particularly noticeable that many Aboriginal people smoke, including those who are pregnant.

3. Reducing smoking prevalence for people with mental illness or those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

4. Reducing involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke.

5. Minimising the promotion of and reducing access to tobacco products by children.

Actions that have been incorporated into the strategy include the government's recent announcement to ban smoking within 10 metres of children's playgrounds, ban smoking in undercover transport waiting areas, and allowing councils and other bodies to apply to have an area or event declared smoke-free.

The government, as the largest employer in the state, has recognised that it needs to take the lead to reduce passive smoking experienced by many of its employees. The government has decided that all government agencies will be smoke-free by 2015, though we recognise there may be challenges and particular needs when it comes to restricting smoking in prisons, so we will work with prisons to help develop policies in the longer term.

Additionally, it is expected that the majority of publicly funded arts and sporting events will become smoke-free. I also intend to introduce legislation into this place shortly to bring into effect some of these measures. Further, the government is working with the hospitality sector to implement a 100 per cent smoke-free outdoor eating and drinking area at all venues by 2016.

A key objective of the strategy, which is carried through many of the actions, is to decrease smoking prevalence and exposure to passive smoking and, pivotally, to reduce children's perceptions of smoking as glamorous or normal. That is the major thing we need to do because we know that most people who take up smoking are, in fact, children, and they take it up because they think it is glamorous or something that everybody else does.

The government is taking the issue of tobacco control very seriously, and we will continue to vigorously pursue other measures to ensure that the rate of smoking in young South Australians declines to 16 per cent by 2016. I look forward to working with all members of this place to further those goals.

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