Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. In the May budget I welcomed the government's announcement of stronger legislation and funding to address the rising rates of vaping, particularly amongst schoolchildren and young Australians. Since that announcement, however, a number of convenience stores that sell vapes have opened up in my electorate of Mackellar. These stores are typically located close to busy school bus stops and they are selling vapes to school-aged children. What is the minister's timeline for shutting down the illegal sale of vapes to children?

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Mackellar for her question. She is one of a growing group of health professionals elected to this parliament really adding value to the debate about the important policy issues around health care. As a very experienced general practitioner, she knows a public health menace when she sees one—and that is what this has become. More evidence is released almost every month about the harms being done to our youngest Australians from this product.

Only yesterday, a research institute and university from New South Wales released evidence about the second-hand and third-hand harms that are being caused to young Australians from the chemical residues that vapes leave on the surface of clothing and other surfaces as well. They're very sticky residues that contain very harmful chemicals. I remind members of this House that vapes contain more than 200 chemicals, some of which are typically used for weedkiller, nail polish remover and other poisonous products like that.

This product was sold to global communities as a therapeutic good to help hardened smokers kick the habit. It was not sold as a recreational product or, in particular, as a recreational product for the youngest members of global communities, but that is what it has become. That is why these things are marketed with unicorns on them. That's why they're marketed with bubblegum flavour. That's why they're disguised as highlighter pens and USBs so kids can hide them in their pencil cases at school. As the member said, it is no surprise that these vape stores are being opened right across the country, right next to schools, because that is the target market for this insidious product.

Let's be clear; this is a product being shamelessly sold to recruit a new generation of nicotine addicts, and, tragically, it is working. Under-25s are now the only cohort in the community where smoking rates are actually going up. We know from evidence from the University of Sydney that you are three times more likely to take up smoking if you vape, and it is now the No. 1 behavioural issue in school communities, as the Minister for Education has said time and time again.

Some people, including some in this parliament, say that it's all gone too far and that we should just raise the white flag and continue the market. Well, that's not approach of this government. It's not the approach of every state and territory government who have also joined. By the end of this year, I intend to put in place an import control regulation that will make illegal the import of these vapes. To his credit, Greg Hunt tried to do that, but he was rolled by his own coalition party room, and so you've had open borders for all of these years. This public health menace has exploded over the course of the last few years, but this government is absolutely determined to stamp it out.