Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to speak about a topic I'm not a personal expert in and I don't have personal knowledge of. I have never vaped in my life, but I've come to defend the interests of those who do have to vape and I believe we should seek to have a legal and regulated market for vaping in this country. I should put on the record that I did smoke for my last year at uni and during my first few years working in this place, but, thankfully, I've not smoked for a number of years—and I do thank my wonderful wife, who always encourages me not to do it.

I want to state at the beginning here tonight that I don't want to encourage anyone to take up nicotine. It's a terrible thing to become addicted to something like nicotine. The best outcome would be for none of us to have to resort to smokes or vapes or other types of drugs. It's not something to aspire to. But I do know a number of good people who vape, and they do so in preference to the alternative: smoking. So when, in late June this year, the Minister for Health announced that there would be a ban on the importation of vaping liquids, some of my friends contacted me, concerned that that would lead them back to cigarettes. I agreed that there was a concern, and it did seem heavy-handed, so I started a petition with Mr George Christensen, the member for Dawson, to try to overturn the ban. Little did we realise the reaction that that would generate. I was gobsmacked by the response.

In three days, we had more than 70,000 people sign the petition. In the end, I and 27 other members of the Liberal-National party room wrote to the Minister for Health asking him to reconsider. I want to thank the many people who emailed me or posted their story online. I want to particularly thank the very engaged aussievapers community on Reddit who rallied together to fight the ban. There were thousands of personal stories that impacted me, and I think it's those stories that did the most to immediately overturn the ban and defer it for six months while further consultation could occur. I thank Minister Greg Hunt for listening to these people, and I look forward to further discussions on how we can find a way forward.

After the reactions we received through these comments, I furthered my view that we should not proceed with a ban on the importation of vaping liquids and that we should instead legalise and regulate e-cigarette use so average Australians can get help to kick the habit, improve their health and live a longer and more fulfilling life with their families. I want to use this opportunity to read at least one story that was sent to me by a young mum. She told me: 'I'm a mum of two young boys. I managed to successfully quit before the first, on Champix'—a type of e-cigarette. 'I took it up again between baby 1 and 2'—that is, smoking—'and gave it up before baby No. 2, using nicotine replacement therapy. When I was starting again, almost four years ago, I decided to try a vape, and I have not looked back. My lungs are better. I'm not puffed out walking up the stairs or going for a brisk walk or jog. I don't have heart palpitations, and I don't have to hug my kids reeking of darts. Once upon a time I figured I was here for a good time, not a long time. Now I've got my bubs, and I want to be here for a long time. I've converted countless others, off the darts and onto e-cigs, who are feeling so much better as well.' I could spend my whole time this evening reading stories like that, but I don't want to give the impression that my views or my conclusions are based on anecdotal evidence alone.

The UK government concluded in March this year that smokers should be encouraged to use e-cigarettes because they can 'greatly increase their chances of successfully stopping smoking'. A recent study by Cancer Research UK found that e-cigarettes had helped more than 50,000 smokers in the UK quit in 2017. As I said before, the best health outcome is for people not to smoke tobacco or e-cigarettes at all, but the UK Royal College of Physicians has concluded that the health risks of e-cigarettes are unlikely to exceed five per cent of the risks associated with smoking tobacco. Last month, Australian data helped support many of these findings. Every three years, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare conducts the National Drug Strategy Household Survey. The latest results showed the good news—that there are 127,000 fewer Australians smoking than there were three years prior. That almost exactly matches the 130,000 extra Australians that are now using less harmful e-cigarettes on a daily basis. Not everyone that has given up smoking has reverted to an e-cigarette, but, according to this data, almost 90 per cent of those that use e-cigarettes daily have previously been smokers.

The statistical evidence now clearly shows that e-cigarettes can help cut smoking rates, which is why every developed country in the world, except for Australia and Turkey, has legalised their use. Why do we hold out? The most common reason given is that vaping could be an on-ramp, encouraging some people to take up smoking. Again, the data does not back this up. Just one per cent of current smokers tried an e-cigarette before they tried a real cigarette. This is based on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study—a very extensive survey. So it's clearly not an on-ramp. In the Australian government's own evidence, it's not an on-ramp. E-cigarettes are a gateway to get off smokes, not to get hooked on them.

Another concern is that e-cigarettes may be more attractive to children, but, according to this data, more children between the ages of 14 and 17 have tried other illicit drugs—such as marijuana and ecstasy—than have tried e-cigarettes. In any case, if we regulated the e-cigarette market, we could concentrate on keeping them away from kids rather than wasting resources on trying to ban them all. I fully support making sure that we regulate any e-cigarette marketing so that we avoid the marketing of products to young children and avoid designing products that attract young children. Those things should be part of any regulation of e-cigarettes in this country.

Another issue is a recent spate of lung diseases and deaths in the US associated with people vaping cannabis-derived THC oil and vitamin E acetate. Some US states have, in effect, an unregulated market on these products. I'm not proposing—and I don't know anyone who is proposing—such a model here for this country. Dangerous vaping liquids should be banned. Again, we should concentrate our enforcement efforts on the real harm, not try to nanny adults who can make their own decisions.

I want to go back to that person who told me their story about her young children and her own efforts to get off smoking. She also said to me, 'I find it flabbergasting that I can grab a packet of cancer sticks at every corner store, but I'm a criminal for bringing in nicotine liquids.' I couldn't say that better myself. Why is it that you can go to a servo and pick up a bunch of smokes, but it's absolutely illegal to buy a—less harmful—nicotine delivery system in this country? That is something that I think must change.

Smoking continues to be the drug that kills more Australians than any other, by far. That same Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study showed that, annually, 20,000 Australians die from the effects of smoking. That's compared to 6,000 from alcohol and 2½ thousand from illicit drugs. We should continue to try and reduce the rate of smoking in this country. The impacts of those smoking habits are especially felt in remote and Indigenous communities around Australia. The evidence is clear: the overseas evidence has come in that vaping products and e-cigarettes can help cut smoking rates and can help us avoid some of the terrible harm that smoking inflicts on those who become addicted. We should continue push for a reduction in smoking because of the harm it causes. In my view, a legal and regulated e-cigarette market offers the best hope to achieve that.

Senate adjourned at 22:31