Stirling Griff (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

  (i) recent research by the Australian National University which confirms that non-smokers who vape are three times more likely, on average, to take up tobacco smoking, and

  (ii) that researchers observed that, for people trying to quit tobacco smoking, e-cigarettes tend to result in prolonged use of nicotine, rather than cessation;

(b) further notes that:

  (i) the Therapeutic Goods Administration has not approved e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids,

  (ii) nicotine e-liquid is not commercially available within Australia and is meant to be imported with a prescription for personal use, though there is currently little stopping people buying these liquids online and importing them without prescription, and

  (iii) the Government is consulting on proposed new rules that will, from next year, close this loophole by making a prescription a legal requirement for personal purchase of nicotine e-liquid, through domestic pharmacies or online sellers;

(c) acknowledges the concern of the Royal Australian College of Physicians that the proposed Senate select committee inquiry on 'tobacco harm reduction' is unnecessary, and that the safest option for the community is to not use tobacco or e-cigarettes; and

(d) calls on the Government to resist any attempts to weaken the laws surrounding vaping and nicotine e-liquids.