People using vapes will not get a pass in no-smoking areas, and there will be a crackdown on tobacco chop shops under new laws proposed for Queensland.
There will also be an expansion of smoke-free areas, a new licensing scheme and greater restrictions on cigarette sales in pubs and clubs under the laws to be introduced to the state parliament this week.
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the bill will also seek to change the language of no-smoking areas to make it clear “that if you can’t smoke there, you shouldn’t be using an e-cigarette”.
The new licensing scheme aims to crack down on sellers of “chop shops” that have popped up in Queensland suburbs in recent years, selling both illegal tobacco and vapes to children.
“It’s the actual legit small businesses, tobacconists, who have come to us and said, ‘we want you to regulate us, we want to be licensed, we want to be able to find the ones who aren’t licensed or shouldn’t be’,” D'Ath told ABC Radio Brisbane on Monday.
Currently, the state relies on a system requiring participation from multiple agencies across different levels of government.
The new laws aim to streamline the response.
They will also ban children from being in designated smoking areas in pubs, clubs and restaurants.
The move follows the state government’s announcement of a parliamentary inquiry to look into the health risks of vaping and how many young people are using e-cigarettes.
D'Ath said even vapes that claim not to contain nicotine often do, meaning people can become addicted without realising it.
Additives found in antifreeze and carcinogens such as formaldehyde and acetone have also been found.
There is particular concern about the impact vapes are having on school children, and the health minister said marketing is a major problem.
Flavours like bubblegum and vanilla are common, and D'Ath said it was shocking some vapes look like highlighters that could be easily hidden in pencil cases.
“Teachers are begging for help in this space because kids are becoming so addicted they can’t sit through a lesson without being agitated,” she said.
“We don’t want to be here in 20 or 30 years’ time looking back, like we all did globally on tobacco, and going ‘if only’.”
There are also signs of greater action at a federal level after Nationals Leader David Littleproud suggested tightening regulation on vape flavours and chemicals.
“The problem we’ve got is we’ve got all these fruit flavours that have been so enticing to children,” he told the Today Show on Sunday.
“The reality is that if you don’t have regulation that regulates what’s in it and regulates how it’s flavoured, then it opens up this Pandora’s box.”
“It is important that we act swiftly, but we act with the science we’ve got and any science we can get.”
Littleproud said his party room was likely to form a position in the next week.
