Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased today to deliver a speech written by a young constituent from my electorate, Hazel Doyle, who is sitting in the gallery today with her family. The speech is part of the Raise Our Voices Australia campaign, and these are Hazel's words:

I want the Australian Government to achieve the creation of laws to ban nicotine and vapes and make them illegal to people under 30 and vapes should be banned to be on or near school properties or facilities that work with under 18s.

Even being exposed to smoke and vaping increases the likelihood of harm to that child vaping or smoking from a young age and getting a drug addiction.

Nicotine and vaping harms brain development up to 25 years old, not to mention the major health risks. According to Kids Health Information.org, vaping impacts learning, memory, attention, and it increases the risk of drug addiction.

As a year 7 school student myself, I see a lot of students my age in year 7 and 8 at my school getting vapes from relatives and friends and vaping in school which causes many mental and physical health risks such as rapid onset coughing, nausea, lung diseases, depression and suicidal tendencies. Also, teachers, child carers, staff members who work with or near children and teens, who smoke or vape can expose the children to smoke and the chemicals in vapes.

Overall, our Australian Government needs to take action and make changes for the future Australian generations of children. Vaping must be banned.