Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Any parent with a teenager would no doubt have received a barrage of notifications by now from their child's school around the rampant use of vapes. While rebellious smoking by students is not a new thing, the comparative ease of access and lack of federal regulation around packaging and safety standards is. The current prescription-only model for nicotine vapes hasn't worked and, in the interim, the black market for over-the-counter disposable vapes is thriving. We need to acknowledge that the average smoker looking to convert to an e-cigarette is not going to be lured into a product that smells and tastes like fake cheesecake or cola. These products are aimed directly at a younger market who are now far more likely to pick them up than a traditional cigarette.

While I appreciate that some studies point to vapes being a healthier alternative to tobacco, nicotine is still an addictive substance and we are now seeing data on the harmful long-term effects of vaping, particularly on young people. I believe we need to acknowledge our failure to appropriately safeguard prospective new users and see stronger regulation around the production and sale of vapes, replicating a similar model to traditional cigarettes. Plain packaging, consistent safety standards around ingredients, warning labels, minimum age requirements and enforceable penalties for supply are needed now.

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