Question Without Notice No. 858 asked in the Legislative Council on 28 November 2017 by Hon Aaron Stonehouse
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
858. Hon AARON STONEHOUSE to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
I note that over the past 16 years our state and federal governments, as well as a raft of health experts and academics, have been telling young people that smoking is bad and they should not do it. I note also that young people have been listening to these officials in droves. According to the federal Department of Health's own statistics, released as part of the National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the rate of those aged 12 to17 who smoke has fallen from 11.2 per cent in 2001 to just 1.5 per cent in 2016 and the rate of those aged 18 to 24 who smoke has fallen from 24 per cent to just 11.6 per cent over the same period. On the basis of those encouraging figures, I ask the following.
(1) Why has the minister offered his public backing to proponents of an increase in the legal age of smoking from 18 to 21 years?
(2) Would the government's health objectives not be better served by the minister acknowledging and congratulating young people for their compliance, rather than by the introduction of a new taboo and another unnecessary law that restricts young people's liberty?
Hon ALANNA CLOHESY replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question.
(1)–(2) I am advised that the Minister for Health believes that the merits of this proposal should be considered at a national level and has asked for it to be discussed at the next Council of Australian Governments Health Council meeting.