Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

ANANDA-RAJAH () (): Nicotine is a highly addictive substance—in fact, it is a drug—and I've seen the effects of nicotine addiction up close and personal in my medical practice. It results in accelerated atherosclerosis, which pretty much affects every single blood vessel in your body, large, small or even microscopic. The effects include stroke, heart attack and peripheral vascular disease, which itself leads to serial amputations. It often starts with a small digit, maybe a toe, and then what happens is usually what we describe in the medical profession—informally—as salami surgery. The toe would go, then you would end up with a below-knee amputation, and so on and so forth, with multiple debridements in between. The problem with nicotine addiction is that it is a threat multiplier. In combination with diabetes, it is a very, very potent amplifier of accelerated atherosclerosis and inflammation, and the effects are disastrous.

As a government, we are taking this problem very seriously in an attempt to disrupt tobacco networks and the sale of illicit tobacco, as well as vapes, in order to build upon a proud Labor tradition of reducing smoking rates in this country. We know that tobacco is a leading cause of preventable disease burden in Australia, accounting for 8.6 per cent of the total burden of disease back in 2018. The numbers of daily smokers aged 14 years and above in 2019 were 12 per cent in men and nearly 10 per cent in women. But there are some bright spots. There has been a decline in active smokers over 20 or so years. We also know there has been an increase in the proportion of adults who never take up smoking. In 1991, that number was 49 per cent. In 2019, that number is now 63 per cent. These data come from the AIHW. As of 2017, 82 per cent of secondary school students had never tried smoking, compared to 77 per cent in 2011.

But we have to remain vigilant. Why? Because we have seen the scourge and ingress of vapes into a much younger generation—children. These things are disguised as anything but cigarettes. They look like batteries, like highlighter pens. They have enticing colours and even more enticing names and, obviously, a range of flavours. The Albanese government is intent on banning these items, because they are ever-prevalent and they are popping up like weeds. We do know that in 2019 almost two in five current smokers aged 14 or over have used e-cigarettes. These were originally sold as being a means to cease smoking, to break the habit, but what has happened is they have become gateway drugs, leading to greater levels of nicotine addiction in people in later in life.

With respect to the illicit trade of tobacco, this is a significant problem and it is underpinned by sophisticated criminal syndicates. Organised crime networks are increasingly resorting to acts of violence, including arson, threats and result—and why? Because the amount of money involved in this trade is huge. Last year, Border Force made over 120,000 detections of illicit tobacco, seizing over 1.8 billion cigarettes and over 867 tonnes of looseleaf tobacco. This tobacco is grown in regional areas, often in communities that know it is happening, and it takes a great deal of collaboration and intelligence on the ground and in collaboration both interstate and with the Commonwealth to disrupt these networks. For example, between April and May this year, the taskforce looking into this in combination with the ATO and NSW police, raided three illegal tobacco plantations across New South Wales. This activity resulted in the seizure of more than 264 tonnes of illicit tobacco. Similarly, in August this year, there was another sophisticated operation to disrupt a group in South-East Queensland and northern New South Wales, involving the AFP, New South Wales and Queensland police, and the TGA.

In order for this sort of work to continue, we have to maintain good relationships with our state counterparts and ensure we get multijurisdictional collaboration.

See this speech in context