Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We're working on the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024 bill because we want to make sure that we change the lives of Australians—in particular young Australians. Asthma, lung scarring, organ damage, nausea, mouth irritation, chest pains, heart palpitations, seizure and toxicity are just some of the health problems that are caused by vaping, in which people use battery operated devices to inhale an aerosol which contains nicotine, flavouring and other chemicals. Among these serious side effects and health problems, vaping is also regarded as a gateway to more harmful drugs. It's a big problem, and that's why I am proud the government—led by the health minister, who is passionate about this issue—is taking strong action. I know we must act urgently to stamp it out.

Vaping creates a new generation of nicotine addicts. It's highly addictive, and rates are soaring. Public data shows this. Cancer Council WA reported that in 2020 two per cent of 14- to 17-year-olds were vaping. By 2022, that number had skyrocketed, with a sixfold increase to 12 per cent. For 18- to 24-year-olds, the proportion of people quadrupled to more than 20 per cent in the same period.

We also know that one in three people who start vaping go on to smoke, and we are seeing more young people taking up vaping and then smoking. It's no surprise that people under 25 are now the only cohort showing an increase in smoking. After decades and decades of decline in smoking, it's now a major public health issue. We have campaigns and advocacy around this, and we must address it. We must address it before it's too late.

In preparation for the last time I talked about the government's tobacco control measures, I caught up with Professor Mike Daube, who works out of Curtin University in my electorate of Swan. I'm grateful to him for sharing his time and his views on vaping. Professor Daube has been a leader in tobacco control and public health for over four decades. Back in 2008, he was appointed by the Labor Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, to chair the National Preventative Health Taskforce. In response to its recommendations, Australia became the first country in the world to implement the plain packaging of tobacco products, which helped reduce smoking. Professor Daube warns that the major issue that we're facing right now is vaping. To quote Professor Daube, 'We are facing an extraordinary tobacco resurgence.' He said today that, while Australia has been a world leader in tobacco control, the development of e-cigarettes and other novel products threatens to undo much of the progress that we have made. Australia proudly led the way on tobacco reform. Others looked to Australia for inspiration on how to take on big tobacco. Now Professor Daube says that we must lead the way again and we must do everything that we can do to prevent another generation getting hooked on nicotine.

What I will say is that, at the end of the day, big tobacco is a business that's driven by profit. When they were losing customers, when people were quitting smoking, they needed to come up something new to attract customers and to bring others back. Some in this place will recognise the term 'Kodak moment', but there's a whole generation of people that don't even know what a Kodak camera is. What we saw with Kodak is that they didn't innovate, and now so many people have digital cameras in their hands. The photography industry innovated, and now people have cameras in their hands, but, for classic Kodak moments, people aren't getting their film developed. Similarly, for tobacco they had the classic analog cigarette and, after a decline in rates of smoking, they wanted to revamp, and they did this through the use of e-cigarettes and vaping products. They're developing newer nicotine and tobacco products, and what they're doing, very intentionally, is targeting the most impressionable of our society—that is, young people.

Debate interrupted.

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