Smoking in decline without having to impose draconian ban

IT is interesting to see reported that the most recent Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey found adolescent smoking rates (12-17-yearolds) in Tasmania have halved since 2011, from 16 per cent to 8 per cent.

This is good news, and supports separate data which shows that the average age at which young people who do smoke start smoking has also risen to 16 (up from 14).

The survey also found that the number of students who had never smoked had increased from 70 to 78 per cent, which is also good news.

Unsurprisingly, the survey found that the overwhelming majority of those who had smoked sourced their cigarettes from family and friends, which is testament to the fact that small business retailers are doing the right thing by not selling cigarettes to young people.

In the face of this evidence, it’s disappointing that Ivan Dean MLC is continuing to pursue his misguided Bill to try to lift the smoking age to 21.

When the latest hard data shows that the smoking rate for young people is already declining, and that the vast majority of young people who smoke get the product from family and friends (or else procure it via the black market), it’s hard to see the logic in how raising the age limit will make any practical difference in reducing the rate.

Altering the ability for retailers to sell tobacco products to people only above 21 through this prohibition will just be an added administrative burden, and do nothing to reduce smoking rates at a faster rate than it is already occurring.

Mr Dean’s Bill bizarrely also makes it illegal for 18-21year-olds to smoke, but imposes absolutely no penalty if they do so.

Backed by West Australian mining billionaire Twiggy Forrest, Mr Dean is even flying someone all the way from the US to try to tell us what we should be doing here in Tasmania.

But there’s one major problem — in the US the drinking age is already 21, so lifting the smoking age to 21 there has a small amount of logic about it.

Here, of course, the legal drinking age is 18.

So trying to compare a few states in America (albeit where there is limited evidence about the efficacy of raising the smoking age to 21) with Tasmania is a bit like trying to compare apples with oranges.

Unless, of course, Mr Dean is suggesting that the drinking age (and the voting age too?) also be raised to 21 in Tasmania?

Like it or not, retail of legal tobacco products are critical to

Tasmania’s tobacco strategy is working and needs no tinkering, says Robert Mallett.

retail businesses.

Tobacco-related turnover and profitability underpins extended retail trading hours, employment and ultimately retail service to the general public, particularly in regional Tasmania.

Without it, many retail businesses will not be viable and country towns could lose their local store.

But to be absolutely clear, retailers are as keen as anybody to reduce smoking rates and reduce our reliance on tobacco products.

Retailers are very interested in exploring options that might help to reduce the smoking rate, without unduly harming our retail sector.

So rather than trying to legislate a simplistic and flawed approach such as raising the legal smoking age to 21, we would welcome a serious examination of regulating and allowing us to sell alternative, less harmful products, such as smoke-free products (that is, vaping and ecigarettes).

While there has been some recent controversy (from what I understand mostly related to the use of THC-cannabis products), smoke-free products are widely used as smoking cessation aids in many Western countries such as New Zealand, the UK, the US and Japan, where there is evidence they have contributed to a significant reduction in smoking rates.

Regulation of the sale and use of smoke-free products in Tasmania would allow responsible local small retailers that already sell tobacco products to reduce their sales of traditional cigarettes, without negatively affecting their economic viability.

If smoke-free products are up to 95 per cent safer than traditional cigarettes (as UK Health says they are) and could help reduce smoking rates, surely that’s a conversation we should be having.