Australia: the Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction issues its final report

On 6 October 2020, the Senate resolved to establish a Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction (the Committee). The Committee was in charge of inquiring into and reporting on tobacco reduction strategies, with particular reference to the following:

(a) the treatment of nicotine vaping products (electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) in developed countries similar to Australia (such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the European Union and United States), including but not limited to legislative and regulatory frameworks;
(b) the impact nicotine vaping products have had on smoking rates in these countries, and the aggregate population health impacts of these changes in nicotine consumption;
(c) the established evidence on the effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation treatment;
(d) the established evidence on the uptake of e-cigarettes amongst non-smokers and the potential gateway effect onto traditional tobacco products;
(e) evidence of the impact of legalising nicotine vaping products on youth smoking and vaping rates and measures that Australia could adopt to minimise youth smoking and vaping;
(f) access to e-cigarette products under Australia’s current regulatory frameworks;
(g) tobacco industry involvement in the selling and marketing of e-cigarettes; and
(h) any other related matter.

The inquiry was open for public consultation, with submissions due by 5 November 2020. The Committee’s final report was tabled on 18 December 2020 and provides a number of recommendations on how to address novel nicotine vaping products, including e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Recommendations from the majority report of the Committee are contained within the final report on pages 87-89.

The full report and additional information on this inquiry are available through this link.

For more information, please, contact: Mr David Laffan (e-mail: david.laffan@health.gov.au).

For the latest information on tobacco control in Australia, please, see this Party webpage.