Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I second the motion and rise to express my support for the Commonwealth government's cautious approach to the regulation of e-cigarette products. I also acknowledge the contentious nature of this issue, and that there are many people in Australia, and in my electorate of Mallee, who have come to rely on e-cigarettes as an alternative to cigarettes and tobacco. Having heard testimonials from a number of people in my electorate, I know that some have used these products successfully to reduce their consumption of tobacco, leading to improvements in their quality of life.

I co-signed a letter, with several other MPs and senators, addressed to the Minister for Health, calling for a delay in changes to Customs regulations that would end the importation of vaping liquids for use in e-cigarettes. In doing so, I expressed my concern that these changes were rushed, did not appropriately consider community sentiment and did not allow adequate time for doctors and suppliers to move to a new regulatory framework to continue the distribution of these e-cigarette products. However, these concerns do not change the fact that the jury is still out on e-cigarettes. That is to say that, at this point in time, evidence related to the safety and health benefits of e-cigarettes is inconclusive.

E-cigarettes are still relatively new products, meaning there is not enough meaningful data and information available to inform their long-term health effects. This position is replicated by several leading organisations around the world, including the World Health Organization, the Cancer Council of Australia, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation of Australia, and the US Food and Drug Administration agency. Studies are also increasingly showing that e-cigarettes can emit harmful substances. The National Health and Medical Research Council advises that e-cigarettes may expose users to chemicals and toxins such as formaldehyde, heavy metals, particulate matter and flavouring chemicals at levels that have the potential to cause adverse health effects. Manufacturer quality can also not be guaranteed, meaning associated risks are greater still. In 2019, the Victorian Poisons Information Centre reported 41 cases of liquid nicotine poisonings, up from 21 cases in 2018. Also in 2018, a Victorian toddler died from e-cigarette liquid nicotine consumption.

Furthermore, beyond anecdotal evidence and personal testimonies, the evidence for e-cigarettes as cessation aids to help people quit smoking is also inconclusive. For this reason, the Therapeutic Goods Administration is yet to approve any e-cigarette products as a tool to quit. This therefore means that it is illegal to supply these products if they can claim to assist people to quit smoking. There are many smoking cessation therapy products that are lawfully available for commercial sale in Australia that have all been evaluated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for quality, safety and efficacy, and e-cigarettes are not one of them. One research also points to a potential rise in smoking rates by renormalising smoking, reducing a smoker's motivation to quit or encouraging nonsmokers, including young people, to take up smoking. Evidence suggests that the use of e-cigarettes by non-smoking youths predicts future take-up of smoking. In the USA there was a 78 per cent increase in the number of high school children who are vaping over the most recent 12-month period surveyed.

There are also known risks associated with nicotine exposure on brain development, meaning pregnant women and adolescents should avoid nicotine-containing products. More concerning still is that e-cigarette products are appealing to children and adolescents due to the enticing flavours available. This is perhaps my greatest concern when it comes to e-cigarettes, that without controlling these products we will see increasing rates of smoking, especially in young people. That's why I'm glad that the Australian government is committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking and its associated health, social and economic costs. Evidence shows that smoking rates in Australia are now among the lowest in the world. It shows that 11 per cent of Australians aged 14 years and over reported smoking daily in 2019, down from 21 per cent in 1991. These results show that the broad range of tobacco control measures of successive Australian governments are working without the need for products such as e-cigarettes that pose further risks. I hope to see a continued reduction in Australia's smoking rates to meet the government's target of reducing rates to below 10 per cent by 2025.

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