Qld open to smoking phase-out, but not yet

Queensland's health minister says he wants to see how the state's new anti-smoking laws work before considering a generational phase-out.

Smokers will pay more for cigarettes.

The states and territories are looking at a GST pool of $60.7 billion, partly thanks to smokers. (AAP) Source: AAP

Queensland's health minister says he's open to the idea of a generational smoking ban, but not just yet.

Cameron Dick says he wants to see how the state's new anti-smoking legislation plays out first.

Cancer Council Queensland has suggested a complete ban on smoking for all children born after 2001 to gradually stop smoking altogether.

Mr Dick says the state has gone from 30 per cent of adults smoking daily to 15 per cent in 15 years and is confident the new laws will decrease that further.

"Clearly smoking is becoming socially unacceptable in Queensland," Mr Dick said.

But Mr Dick said he was willing to discuss Cancer Council Queensland's idea, despite obvious barriers, including the difficulties surrounding enforcement.

"There might be unintended consequences - you'd have to think through the issues, particularly in tourism areas like the Gold Coast," he said.

"Happy to talk to them about that and consider that in the future, but I'd like to see how our laws work first."

Parliament recently passed laws to ban smoking at bus and taxi stops, outdoor pedestrian malls, and in or near childcare facilities and kids' sporting events and skate parks.

Residents in the state's aged-care facilities will also be banned from smoking in their rooms for the first time, and will only be allowed to light up in designated areas.

Cancer Council Queensland CEO Jeff Dunn applauded the government's tough anti-smoking stance, but questioned whether it could do more by implementing the phase-out.

"This would mean that young people turning 15 this year would never legally be allowed to smoke - providing a glide path to end the scourge of cigarettes," Prof Dunn said.

"One thing is certain - our failure to take action today will burden our children tomorrow with tobacco-related debt and disease."


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world