The Senate Committee has approved the vaping bill. What now?
Posted on May 8, 2024 By Colin
THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO VAPING has recommended that the vaping bill be passed (report here). What does that mean, and what’s next?
The Committee voted in favour of the Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024. If passed in a Senate vote, the bill will ban the importation, domestic manufacture, supply, commercial possession and advertisement of vaping goods.
Voting against the bill was largely driven by the perceived harms of vaping, especially to youth, rather than by the benefits to adult smokers.
The Senate vote
The Senate will vote on the bill either in the current sitting period by the end of next week, or in the next sitting period in June.
Who supported the bill?
The majority vote of the Committee voted to pass the bill. It was no doubt supported by Labor party MPs, but details of other votes are not available.
Reasons for support
The Committee gave these reasons for supporting the bill in its report:
- “Ultimately, this bill is about protecting young Australians from the very real and alarming harms of vaping”
- Vaping is a threat to public health and tobacco control
- A new generation of Australians are becoming addicted to nicotine through these products, which are “intentionally targeted at children”
- To provide safer access as therapeutic goods
The Committee was “reassured to hear from enforcement agencies that the legislation will “significantly enhance” the ability of law enforcement and health authorities to crack down on imported vaping goods”.
Australian Greens: seeking amendments
The Greens will seek to propose amendments to the legislation, but have not committed to voting either way so far. However they expressed opposition to the bill in principle.
- “The Greens do not support the prohibition of vapes for adults and instead will work towards a carefully regulated scheme that focuses on public health outcomes, reducing harm and minimising the use of vaping products.”
The Coalition: undecided at present
The Coalition appears to be opposed to the bill but remains officially uncommitted and will discuss the bill further in the party room. They said, we “reserve our final position while this policy makes its way through our internal processes”.
The Coalition noted that “the illicit vaping market in Australia is out of control” and involves organised crime. They also noted that vaping models in other OECD countries “to strictly regulate, control, and tax vaping products as an adult consumer product have been proven to control the market and reduce youth vaping”.
Coalition members of the Committee expressed many concerns about the bill:
- “The existing prescription-only model has failed to address the exponential growth in underage vaping”
- “Prohibition has failed” and law enforcement will be unable to control the black market
The Coalition had serious concerns about the process taken by the Committee, such as:
- The late publication of submissions, many just before the public hearings
- A failure to hear evidence from businesses targeted by the criminal gangs
- Leading academics from overseas made, such as Professors Anne McNeill, Nancy Rigotti and Tikki Pangestu made compelling submissions opposing the bill, but “not a single international expert who submitted to the Committee was invited to provide evidence”
- “Organisations such as Action for Smokefree 2020 Aotearoa New Zealand (ASHNZ) … were denied an opportunity to appear in public hearings and discuss their written submissions”
- “A lack of compensation for vape stores”
The Nationals: strongly opposed
The opposition of the Nationals was very clear and consistent with its past position. In it's view:
- The bill will exacerbate the black market if passed
- "We need to be trying to ensure that we use proven methods to stop children from vaping as we have with alcohol and tobacco products with regulated markets"
- The Nationals support licensed retail stores selling approved products in plain packaging without flavours that are deliberately marketed at children and taxation
No doubt there will be considerable internal party discussions over the next week or more, and probably some back-room deals before a final decision is made.
My prediction?
In the upcoming vote in the Senate
- Labor Senators and some independents will support the bill
- The Nationals, the Liberal Party, Pauline Hanson's One Nation and some independents are likely to vote against it.
- The final outcome will depend on the Greens
I am cautiously optimistic at this stage but political deals could result in a decision going either way.