SA awarded A+ in fight against tobacco and vapes

South Australia’s tough response to tobacco and vapes is the best in the nation, according to a new national scorecard released today by the Australian Council on Smoking and Health.

Released on the eve of World No Tobacco Day, the nationwide scorecard assessed the performance of each state and territory on tackling tobacco and vapes and found South Australia came out on top.

Nine key areas were assessed including cracking down on illegal sales and enforcing vape laws, protecting kids from marketing, ensuring public spaces are smoke and vape free, support for high-risk groups and investing in public education and awareness campaigns.

The Australian Council on Smoking and Health said South Australia is a “role model” for the rest of the country, with Chief Executive Laura Hunter saying our state is leading the charge in the fight against tobacco and vapes.

“In South Australia, there have been over 500 inspections conducted with closures of retailers who are doing the wrong thing and huge resourcing and investment into government taskforces that are seizing millions of dollars’ worth of illicit cigarettes and vapes,” Ms Hunter said.

The Malinauskas Government has introduced a range of new measures and laws including:

• Investing $16 million in a new taskforce within Consumer and Business Services (CBS) to tackle the illicit trade.
• Implementing a raft of new smoke and vape free public areas near beach jetties, schools, kids’ sporting events and shopping centre entrances.
• Banning the sale of therapeutic vapes to under 18s.
• Becoming the first state in the nation to ban highly addictive nicotine pouches.
• Banning vending machine sales of tobacco products in public areas.
• Delivering new education campaigns in schools to prevent children taking up vapes.
• Rolling out hard-hitting media advertising campaigns targeted specifically at young people about the harms of vaping.

The benefits of these measures have been stark - the latest statistics from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) found 2024 vaping rates among 15 to 29-year-olds reduced by around a third when compared to 2023.

Vaping rates among the 30 to 59 age group also dropped by around half, while overall, vaping rates for people aged 15 and above were reduced by more than a third.

It comes as suspensions relating to vaping at South Australian schools dropped by a staggering 50 per cent.

CBS has been working closely with SAPOL’s Operation Eclipse as well as Border Force and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to get illicit products off South Australian streets.

The State Government has introduced huge penalties for anyone caught selling illicit tobacco and vapes of up to $1.5 million.

The Government has also recently passed legislation, soon to take effect, with fines to up to $6.6 million for the supply and possession of commercial quantities of illicit tobacco and vapes.

Minister Michaels has issued 33 short-term closure orders for stores caught selling illicit tobacco and/or vapes and has successfully had two long-term closure orders approved through the Magistrates Court.

Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in South Australia, with 28 South Australians dying every week from tobacco-related diseases.

Smoking has an estimated $2.3 billion impact on the state’s economy each year in associated health costs.

To view the scorecard visit: https://acosh.org/failing-the-smoke-test-national-scorecard-on-tobacco-and-vape-reform/

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Quotes

Attributable to Chris Picton

The results are in and South Australia is rated the best in the nation in the fight against tobacco and vapes.

We’ve received an A+ for our measures in tackling this important health issue, ahead of any other state or territory.

Smoking is our biggest preventable killer and a major burden on our health system. Vapes are full of highly-addictive nicotine and nasty chemicals. Parents have told me about the terrible effects of their children getting addicted, including problems sleeping, difficulty concentrating at school, irritability, and lack of appetite.

These are the reasons we are so focused on reducing the devastating impact of smoking and vaping.

The only thing we should be putting in our lungs is air and we are glad that our measures to reduce smoking and vaping are making a difference and being recognised.

Attributable to Andrea Michaels

South Australia is leading the nation in the fight against tobacco and vapes.

This national scorecard result demonstrates that we are leaving no stone unturned in our continued effort to crack down.

As a government, we remain incredibly concerned about the rise of vaping amongst young people as well as the increased involvement of organised crime in the illicit tobacco market.

We acted decisively with a $16 million investment in a dedicated taskforce within Consumer and Business Services as well as a suite of new penalties and levers the government could pull such as closure orders.

Not only is smoking and vaping terrible for people’s health but we know that 75 per cent of the illicit market is controlled by organised crime in Australia.

The Malinauskas Government will continue to do everything it can to get these dangerous products off South Australian streets and out of the hands of our children.