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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-18 Daily Xml
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Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products (Tobacco Product Prohibitions) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).

Mrs PEARCE (King) (12:27): As I was mentioning earlier, there are those who have sought to benefit by undercutting the price of legal tobacco products through the sale of illicit tobacco. With people importing sometimes thousands of packets of cigarettes, these can be sold to the public with a very lucrative profit margin, as they are paying no excise, no fees and no tax on the sale. On top of this, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has previously stated that they have growing evidence that organised crime are using the trade of illicit tobacco as a platform for further illicit activities that have a damaging impact on the safety of our community.

Products being sold may include contraband tobacco (which is otherwise legitimately manufactured but on which the excise custom duties and/or GST has not been paid), tobacco sold without any branding (be it loose—often referred to as 'chop-chop'—or rolled into cigarettes) or counterfeited cigarettes (which are produced in a way that makes it appear as if they have been produced by a registered manufacturer).

Currently, though, our existing laws in South Australia do not allow for South Australian authorised officers to enforce compliance with the commonwealth laws around the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, and therefore requires them to refer cases of possible noncompliance to the relevant commonwealth government enforcement authority.

With this bill amending the South Australian Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act, it will prohibit the supply or sale of tobacco products in South Australia that do not meet the requirements of the commonwealth's Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011, including health warnings, and also prohibit the sale or supply of tobacco products that are prohibited goods or have not had the required excise duty paid as per the commonwealth Customs Act 1901 and Excise Act 1901.

We want to reaffirm our commitment to seeing a reduction in the smoking rate and ensure that the health outcomes of South Australians improve. We are proud to have launched a five-year strategy that aims to have the lowest smoking rates in the nation. Our new Tobacco Control Strategy 2023-2027 aims to drive down the prevalence of smoking in South Australians aged 15 and over to just 6 per cent by 2027.

This makes it the most ambitious target in the country. Our tobacco control strategy makes no apology for its ambition because we know that if we can see this through we will be improving the health and wellbeing of thousands of South Australians, not only through tough laws and penalties but also through education and incentive.

Just recently, the government opened consultation on proposed tobacco and e-cigarette regulations, seeking feedback from community and other stakeholders on the proposal to increase penalties and expiations for breaking the law, doubling the penalties for sale or supply of tobacco products to children by businesses and individuals and keeping our public areas smoke-free by banning smoking and vaping at schools, shopping centres, buildings and children's sportsgrounds.

With this consultation now having closed, I understand all the community feedback is being reviewed and evaluated by DASSA. I look forward to learning the results of this consultation, in particular in regard to community sentiment around the matter of vaping. We are also the first to introduce a government-funded Incentive to Quit program, with South Australia to be offered financial incentives in the form of supermarket vouchers as an incentive to quit smoking and improve health.

We also have the federal government on board and committed to tackling the issue of vaping, with our state government right here beside them to help and support their work of strengthening e-cigarette laws and their enforcement. This will include measures such as banning the implementation of non-prescription e-cigarettes; regulating flavours, colours and other ingredients; requiring pharmaceutical-like packaging; reducing the allowed nicotine concentrations and volumes; banning disposable e-cigarettes; and funding public awareness campaigns and service enhancements to help Australians quit smoking and vaping.

Recently, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Minister for Education and the Chief Public Health Officer, Professor Nicola Spurrier, launched the government's campaign to curb the prevalence of vaping among young people, with the program to rollout across South Australian schools to support young people with information about the harms of vaping and awareness of supports that are available to them.

We are committed to strengthening tobacco control right here in South Australia, to help improve the health and wellbeing of thousands of South Australians today and to stop thousands more picking up the habit in the first place. I have seen the impacts of smoking, as I am sure most have in this place and, with that in mind, I commend this bill to the house.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (12:32): I rise to speak on the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Amendment Bill 2022. I would like to thank the Hon. Connie Bonaros MLC from the other place for her dedication in this matter and her willingness to work with the Malinauskas government to ensure this legislation provides strong measures for addressing illicit tobacco in our state.

Smoking tobacco is the most preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. It claims the lives of 24,000 Australians each year and leads to a wide range of diseases, including many types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, chest and lung illness, and stomach ulcers. The Malinauskas government is very aware of the dire consequences that smoking tobacco can have on smokers and innocent bystanders who inhale second-hand smoke. I am old enough to remember the days of being in a pub on a Saturday night and coming home and smelling like you have just smoked a packet of cigarettes yourself when you have not been anywhere near them.

That is why our government is committed to launching and supporting tough measures to crack down on the use and supply of tobacco, especially illicit tobacco. The state's new strategy comes as a report from SAHMRI and shows that South Australia reached a daily smoking rate of 8.2 per cent in 2022. Concerningly, the report also highlights a high prevalence of tobacco use amongst people living with mental illness, with a daily smoking rate of 18 per cent.

There has also been a significant increase in e-cigarette or vape use, particularly among young people, with data showing the percentage of people aged 15 to 29 using e-cigarettes increased to 7.8 per cent last year from 1.1 per cent in 2017, which is a really concerning rise. This rise in tobacco and vape use has been felt by local residents in my electorate. Just in the past few months, I have had concerned parents contact me to raise their concerns on how easy it is for their children to get their hands on vapes and, consequently, the effects vaping is having on the health of their children.

In February, I met with two worried parents who informed me that children were able to purchase nicotine vapes from convenience stores across the road from their school. They said the children would be able to purchase these vapes in their school uniform before and after school. Current South Australian laws prohibit the sale of vapes to persons under the age of 18 years and the sale of nicotine vapes to anyone.

These children were in their school uniform, clearly under the age of 18 years old, but their parents say they were still able to be sold nicotine vapes. They also raised the concern of being able to basically trade for vapes in the schoolyard for either various lunch items or even clothing, which is really concerning. These are just a couple of examples of why our government is announcing tougher measures to crack down on the supply and sale of vapes in South Australia.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Encounter Youth SA for the amazing work they do in educating our children about the harmful impacts of substance abuse through their alcohol and other drug education programs. For those who do not know about Encounter Youth, they have a staff and volunteer group of more than 450 people who support young people to make positive differences in the world.

Encounter Youth is the largest provider of alcohol and other drug education to South Australian secondary school students, and their program is also available across Australia. Their research-based program incorporates up-to-date trends in young people and is also aligned with the Australian Curriculum. Encounter Youth aims to educate students, parents and teachers with strategies that empower young people to look after themselves and their mates.

Many young people know the volunteers from Encounter Youth, who are more commonly known as the Green Team, and you will find them at the schoolies festival and also along Hindley Street. I am a proud supporter of this amazing organisation that is based in my community. I was very happy to visit them recently to see the amazing work they do, to congratulate the CEO, Nigel Knowles, and COO, Jess Morris, and deliver them the good news that they were receiving two laptops from the state government's recent Digital Donation Program.

The Malinauskas government's five-year strategy includes a range of programs and initiatives to drive down the prevalence of smoking in South Australians aged 15 and over to 6 per cent by 2027, which is the most ambitious target in the country. This tobacco control strategy includes banning smoking and vaping in a range of outdoor public places, including near schools, shopping centres, buildings and children's sportsgrounds.

The regulations would significantly increase the number of outdoor places in SA where smoking and vaping are banned, which would be in addition to the current smoke-free laws, which include outdoor dining areas, playgrounds and public transport shelters. While other states have already banned smoking and vaping in many of these public places, our government's plan will result in the most comprehensive smoke-free laws in Australia. The Malinauskas government is also proposing to outlaw cigarette vending machines in licensed venues, which I think is an excellent step.

We are also proposing tougher penalties for persons and businesses who sell tobacco products to children. This would increase fines, from $1,200 to $2,400, and would raise the maximum prosecution penalty for a first offence, from $20,000-$40,000 for a business and $5,000 to $10,000 for an individual. Our new tobacco control strategy sets out a vision to support the reduction in daily smoking and address the increasing use of e-cigarettes through measures such as media campaigns, evidence-based quitting services, product and sale regulation, and strong enforcement of tobacco and e-cigarette laws.

New proposed laws would ban smoking and vaping in the following outdoor areas: within 10 metres of children's education and childcare centres, including schools; within five metres of non-residential building entrances, such as entrances to shopping centres, government and commercial buildings; at public hospitals and health facilities, including aged-care facilities, and private hospitals, and within five metres of their boundaries; within outdoor public swimming facilities; at major sports events or event facilities or within 10 metres of playing and viewing areas during organised under 18 sporting events; and on beaches within 50 metres of patrol flags, and under and within five metres of jetties.

Just recently, the Minister for Health and Wellbeing and the Minister for Education announced posters showing the harmful substances that are found in vapes—things like nail polish remover, weedkiller and bug spray. Whilst these vapes might be found in various shapes and colours, with unicorns and berries and bubblegum flavours, the fact is we are actually allowing people in South Australia to inhale substances such as this.

These posters will be displayed in all state government high schools as part of a new campaign hoping to curb the alarming prevalence of vaping among young people. I know that this is something that is increasingly welcomed by people in my community, particularly parents of school-age children. These materials will also be made available to Catholic and Independent schools across the state and can be found on the SA Health website.

In addition to these posters, parents and carers of children would have received or will receive a letter from South Australia's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Nicola Spurrier, warning about the dangers of vaping. This new campaign follows the Vaping Action Plan that was introduced in schools across the state in November last year. It includes $2.25 million in funding over three years to Life Education SA and Encounter Youth to deliver preventative education programs. A further $40,000 in funding has been given to Encounter Youth to deliver its programs for free to 60 disadvantaged schools across the state, incorporating wellbeing supports and working with families to assist students in breaking their vaping addiction.

The federal government recently announced a range of national initiatives to address e-cigarette use, which our government fully supports. SA Health will continue to work with the federal government and interstate jurisdictions to strengthen the e-cigarette laws and their enforcement. These initiatives include banning the importation of non-prescription e-cigarettes, regulating flavours, colours and other ingredients—as I mentioned earlier—requiring pharmaceutical-like packaging, reducing the allowed nicotine concentration and volumes, banning disposable e- cigarettes, and funding public awareness campaigns and service enhancements to help Australians quit smoking and vaping.

As part of our government's proactive approach to stopping the devastating effects of tobacco on South Australians, we support the Hon. Connie Bonaros's amendment bill to crack down on illicit tobacco use in South Australia. In 2011, the commonwealth government passed the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act as well, which required all tobacco products to be packaged in a certain colour, display brand names in a certain way, display the required text and graphic health warnings, and not display logo brand images or promotional text. These laws apply to people who sell, offer to sell, supply, package or manufacture tobacco products in Australia. Even if the products for sale are not visible to the public, they must still meet plain packaging laws.

These requirements imposed by the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act have proven to be an enormous benefit to the health outcomes of Australians, with the rates of smoking and passive smoking in Australia dropping since 2011. However, current South Australian laws do not permit authorised South Australian officers to enforce the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act. Currently, when authorised South Australian officers believe that a person is not complying with the plain packaging act, the officers are required to refer the case to the relevant commonwealth government enforcement authority. The gap in enforcing this plain packaging act means that illicit tobacco manufacturers and distributors are selling, supplying packaging or manufacturing tobacco products without the requisite health warnings and are not being sufficiently held accountable.

In 2020-21, a report by KPMG discovered that, while the overall consumption of tobacco has reduced, the consumption of illicit tobacco has actually grown. The estimated 2,242 tonnes of illegal tobacco imported into Australia sees a massive $3.4 billion in lost revenue from the tobacco excise, which should be collected and spent on prevention, health and education. KPMG's report further uncovered that unbranded tobacco usage has increased by 36 per cent, with illicit tobacco consumption accounting for 19.3 per cent of total tobacco usage.

While there has been an obvious increase in the consumption of illicit tobacco, there has only been one conviction out of the 1,723 investigations into illicit sales of tobacco in Australia. It is clear that without sufficient enforcement powers bestowed on authorised South Australian officers, such as SAPOL, illicit tobacco manufacturers and distributors have more freedom to circumvent the plain packaging act's requirements and, in turn, increase smoking-related harm to Australians.

By amending the South Australian Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997 this bill will prohibit the sale or supply of tobacco products in South Australia that do not meet the requirements of the commonwealth Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 and prohibit the supply or sale of tobacco products that are prohibited goods or that have not had the required excise duty paid as per the commonwealth Customs Act 1901 and Excise Act 1901.

This bill will also give authorised officers under the South Australian act, including our police, extra powers and incentive to enforce the law, with increased penalties and a view to addressing this illegal trade in South Australia. The intended outcome of the bill is to reduce preventable harm to South Australians by deterring people from manufacturing and selling illicit tobacco. In supporting the bill, the Malinauskas government is reaffirming its commitment to reduce smoking and ensure better health outcomes for South Australia. It is clear we need to do more to protect South Australians from the tragic effects of tobacco.

I am proud to be part of the Malinauskas government that is not only willing to introduce tougher restrictions on smoking but also recognises the importance of educating and encouraging people to realise the damage they could be doing to themselves, innocent bystanders or loved ones. I commend the bill to the house.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (12:46): I rise to indicate my support for the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products (Tobacco Product Prohibitions) Amendment Bill 2022, a bill introduced by the Hon. Connie Bonaros MLC in the other place. I thank the Hon. Connie Bonaros for her hard work on this legislation and her willingness to work with the government to ensure this legislation provides robust measures to address illicit tobacco in South Australia.

We all know that smoking and vaping have a significant impact on the health of South Australians, with smoking still the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. We further know that public health measures have had an enormous impact on smoking prevalence in South Australia and nationally. However, it is time to do more, which includes prohibiting illegal tobacco in South Australia.

This can include tobacco that is sold without branding, either loose or rolled up into cigarettes; contraband cigarettes which are produced by legitimate manufacturers but on which excise customs duty or GST has not been paid; or counterfeit cigarettes produced to appear like those produced by registered manufacturers.

Existing South Australian laws do not allow for South Australian authorised officers to enforce compliance with the commonwealth laws around the packaging and labelling of tobacco products, and therefore requires them to refer cases of possible noncompliance to the relevant commonwealth government enforcement authority. This can delay taking these products, which likely have no health warnings on them and have had no duty paid on them, off the market.

By amending the South Australian Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997, this bill will allow enforcement to occur. The amended bill will prohibit the supply or sale of tobacco products in South Australia that do not meet the requirements of the commonwealth's Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011, including health warnings, and prohibit the supply or sale of tobacco products that are prohibited goods or have not had the required excise duty paid.

These are important changes, as we know the positive impact that the Gillard government's world-leading plain packaging legislation has had on reducing smoking rates; therefore, we do not want smoking products sold without this plain packaging and the appropriate warnings. Additionally, given the significant health costs associated with smoking, it is essential that all excise is collected so that funds can be used to further enhance our health system. I am pleased to see the price of cigarettes rising in the recent federal budget, as hopefully this will act as an incentive for smokers to stop and discourage non-smokers, particularly young people, from starting.

The bill will give authorised officers under the South Australian act, including our police, extra powers and incentive to enforce the law, with increased penalties and a view to addressing the illegal trade in South Australia. In supporting this bill the government is reaffirming its commitment to reduce smoking, ensuring better health outcomes for South Australians, which can only be positive for our community.

Labor has committed to providing $400,000 to Cancer Council SA to fund a Tackling Tobacco pilot program in South Australia to help reduce the smoking rate in at-risk communities, $2.25 million in funding over three years to Life Education SA and Encounter Youth to deliver preventative education programs, and a further $40,000 in funding for Encounter Youth to deliver its programs for free to 60 disadvantaged schools across our state and to incorporate wellbeing supports and work with families to assist students in breaking vaping addiction.

This government's commitment to reduce tobacco and e-cigarette use and harm is outlined in the South Australian Tobacco Control Strategy 2023-2027, which was launched on 13 April 2023. The strategy includes a range of programs and initiatives to drive down the prevalence of smoking in South Australians aged 15 and over to 6 per cent by 2027—the most ambitious target in the country. In addition to the initiatives above, as one of the key actions in the strategy the state government will consult with stakeholders on how best to introduce new smoke-free and vape-free laws in outdoor public areas, particularly those that are popular with young people.

I was proud to stand with our education minister, health minister and Professor Spurrier last week, who have been leading the push for action on vaping across the nation, at the launch of the state government education campaign to stop young people vaping. We know there are over 7,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, of which 70 can cause cancer; however, community members, particularly young people, are still of the view that vapes are safe. We know that they do, in fact, contain chemicals found in nail polish remover, weedkiller, bug spray and disinfectant, as well as high levels of nicotine.

Surprisingly, the vaping industry turns 20 this year, but this does seem like an addiction that has snuck up upon our community. The launch for this action plan occurred at Brighton Secondary School, one of the most fabulous public schools amongst many in my electorate. Principal Tony Lunniss informed the media that his school has a strong focus on vaping-specific education as part of their overall drug education program.

Principal Lunniss emphasised that it is important we take opportunities to provide information and education to young people as part of our focus on wellbeing to encourage them not to start vaping and if they are vaping to encourage them to quit. Young people are enticed by the dark marketing of products by social media influencers and kid-friendly flavours, like crème brûlée, sour sherbet and watermelon.

The proposed new laws I mentioned earlier would ban smoking and vaping within 10 metres of children's education and childcare centres and five metres of non-residential building entrances, at public hospitals and health facilities, including aged-care facilities, and private hospitals and within five metres of their boundaries.

Also subject to bans will be outdoor public swimming facilities, major sports or event facilities or within 10 metres of playing and viewing areas during organised sporting events for under 18 year olds, which is an important change, as we know we do not want parents or caregivers smoking near our kids who are playing sport. Our surf lifesavers will be pleased to hear that it is proposed smoking on beaches will be prohibited within 50 metres of patrol flags and within five metres of jetties.

We are also proposing to outlaw cigarette vending machines in licensed venues and increased penalties for selling to minors, with the proposal of doubling penalties for the sale or supply of tobacco products to children. As a parent of a public high school student, I am encouraged by all that our government is doing to take this preventative action.

I would also like to echo Professor Spurrier, who encourages families to be supportive if their children are addicted to vaping, rather than angry, because their children will need help, often professional help from a doctor or other healthcare professional, if they are addicted. They will be suffering serious peer pressure and might need other assistance and we must show them kindness and understanding.

It is important, too, to note the environmental impact of vaping with its disposable one-use plastics and lithium batteries. The sale of e-cigarettes is widespread, with sale by home delivery through the internet extensive.

I would like to thank ministers Butler, Picton and Boyer, plus all the health and education professionals and stakeholders who already have or will join the fight to end smoking of cigarettes and vapes in South Australia, particularly among our children and grandchildren. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (12:54): I am very happy to rise in support of the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products (Tobacco Product Prohibitions) Amendment Bill 2022. I understand this bill is the culmination of hard work from the Hon. Connie Bonaros in the other place, and I thank her deeply for her efforts.

It is my impression that the public appreciates it when political parties set aside their differences to pursue intelligent legislation like the bill before us today. I also understand the opposition will support this bill, which reaffirms the point that I make. As a government we have some brilliant ideas, but we are mature enough to know that we do not have a monopoly on good ones and that, through collaboration, we can work together to deliver effective change for the benefit of many.

I am a fan of this amended bill as, put simply, tobacco and other addictive substances dispensed by e-cigarettes inflict considerable harm across our community. For the first nine years of my life, I grew up with at least one smoker in my house. My dad took up smoking at the age of 13 and, given the depth of his addiction, we all thought he would never break this habit. It took a serious workplace accident that led to a prolonged stay in hospital, immense willpower, lots of chewing gum and weeks in bed before tobacco's hold on him was finally released.

It was a silver lining to a terrible accident, but had that not happened there is no doubt he would have kept on smoking, which made me wonder how much his life would have been cut short had he continued. He was 52 when the accident happened and so for 39 years he was beholden to the addictive nature of tobacco. Back when he started I am told that nobody knew the risks and that smoking was something you did to make yourself feel grown up. I am pretty sure the word 'cool' at the time had not been invented. While taxation on these products was initially low or non-existent it was still a drain on dad's wallet.

No matter the era, tobacco has a long history of taking food off the table and draining lives of other opportunities that we should all be taking for granted. Beyond its economic effects, we also know it is a very dangerous substance. Smoking tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia which, according to the Cancer Council, claims the lives of around 24,000 Australians every year. Without any doubt, smoking was the reason why dad was reliant on an oxygen machine for the last few years of his life. It was indignant, painful, awkward and a reality, I am sure, many young people today would be oblivious to on the day they first light up.

I have seen a 2009 figure from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners that shows the cost of tobacco to our community is at around $136.9 billion annually. Despite the number of smokers being in decline, health inflation has meant that this is an increase from $105.4 billion from 2004-05. When you break down some of these costs individually, $5 billion is lost through workforce productivity and worker absences, $2 billion in costs associated with family members having to care for a loved one with a smoking-related disease and just under $7 billion sustained in healthcare costs. You do not need to be a genius to realise this addictive habit is costing us all quite dearly.

It is for this reason that it only seems right that users provide some degree of compensation to the rest of society through taxation. I know the charges are hefty, especially to those unfortunately roped into the habit on low incomes, but the $14.3 billion collected in tobacco duty in 2021 pales into insignificance against the total economic cost you and I all sustain. You do not need to be a genius to work out that it is far better for people to never take up this habit in the first place.

One way to limit this is to overcome the big issue we have with illicit tobacco. Figures from the Australian Taxation Office from the same year state that the value of forgone revenue from illicit tobacco equates to $1.9 billion. I have noted reports from KPMG from 2009 that show an even higher number of $3.4 billion. Irrespective of which one is more accurate, the numbers are staggering and present myriad lost opportunities both to individuals and to us all as a community.

Even the much-maligned tobacco companies have reason to be frustrated and seen as losers under these circumstances. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Sitting suspended from 12:59 to 14:00

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