Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes the:

(a) increased use of unregulated nicotine vaping products (vapes) in Australia, particularly among young people;

(b) serious health implications of the unregulated use of vapes; and

(c) increasing community concern about the prevalence and accessibility to vapes;

(2) acknowledges that the Therapeutic Goods Association has sought public comment on potential reforms to the regulation of nicotine vaping products aimed at preventing children and adolescents from accessing vapes, while supporting access to products of known composition and quality for smoking cessation with a doctor's prescription; and

(3) calls on the Government to address the problems associated with increased access to and use of vapes, particularly among young people.

Nicotine vaping products, or vapes, may have some benefit for smokers who use them to quit cigarettes, but vaping carries very real risks, and the number of young people vaping is increasing dramatically. Health professionals say we are sleepwalking into a public health disaster. The policy challenge is making vapes available for smokers where appropriate but not available to children and young people. In October 2021 Australia became the first country to introduce a medical access model of regulating vapes. This requires that people wanting to vape get a prescription in order to obtain vapes with nicotine in them. There have been challenges with enforcement of this model, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration is considering potential reforms. I know the minister is concerned about the impact of vaping and the need to reinvigorate action on smoking, but this is an urgent issue that needs an urgent response.

The main problem is that there's a loophole allowing users and retailers to import vapes from overseas if they are not labelled as nicotine. But labelling on imports is unreliable; most vapes being sold contain nicotine, including some with labelling that says they do not. This means that vapes containing nicotine are getting past customs and are being sold over the counter, including to kids. There is growing community and expert concern—not about smokers transitioning down to vaping but about young nonsmokers transitioning up to vaping. In the words of a 23-year-old constituent, 'Most of my friends vape and none of them were smokers before.' In the short term, the nicotine in vaping is damaging and addictive, and ANU has shown that, in the long term, nonsmokers who vape are three times as likely to take up smoking than nonsmokers who do not vape. As for the rest of the chemicals in vapes, we don't yet know about the long-term impacts, because vapes are so new. Vapes contain a range of chemicals and solvents, including flavouring agents, many of which are toxic or carcinogenic.

Vapes are being targeted at kids. They come in flavours that sound like lollies—cola, strawberry, watermelon, pink lemonade. Teenagers are buying vapes at convenience stores and petrol stations and online. It's hard to know how prevalent vaping is right now amongst young people, because it's growing so rapidly. A few years ago, NSW Health reported that the proportion of young people vaping had more than doubled between 2020 and 2021 to 11 per cent. Since then, anecdotally, at least in my electorate, it looks like it has increased significantly. On the weekend, the West Australian newspaper reported nearly 4,000 suspensions in WA public schools last year due to vaping.

The tobacco industry has seen the potential for its future market and is now keen to promote vaping as well as cigarettes. Responsible Vaping Australia—which sounds like a good idea—was established by British American Tobacco. It has an interest in stopping the black market and developing its own new markets for vaping products. Exploiting a loophole in the tobacco advertising regulatory regime, Responsible Vaping Australia is advertising online, because it can be classified as political advertising, not tobacco advertising. There's also a proliferation of reports supporting vaping, many funded directly or indirectly by the tobacco and vaping industries. GPs say this is all part of a cynical attempt by the tobacco industry to hook a new generation on nicotine. Schools are doing their best to limit vaping but are losing the battle. AHISA, the peak body for independent schools, says, 'Despite schools' best efforts, students' willingness to experiment with vaping appears to be increasing and schools are being challenged not only to counter students' interest in vaping but to help meet the needs of students who may be suffering a serious and potentially fatal addiction.'

So what's the solution? Vaping may have a place for people trying to quit smoking, although there is debate about its effectiveness. To end the black market in vapes, we need a ban on importation and supply of all e-cigarette products, regardless of labelled nicotine content, except by pharmacies for smokers with a prescription. This way, we can then implement stronger border controls to intercept e-cigarette products. We need to update our tobacco advertising ban, which was introduced before the internet and has significant loopholes. This is urgent, and I urge the minister to take action. (Time expired)

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