27 March 2024: 

- "It's important to note that our legislation is being supported by $29.5 million in funding to assist people with quitting smoking and vaping."

- "We are backing up these measures with $188 million committed over four years to bolster the Australian Border Force"

- "The revenue raised by these changes will be $3.3 billion over five years. These funds will go to the healthcare system for ongoing support for current and former tobacco users."

- "In 2020-21, the size of the illicit tobacco market in Australia was estimated at nearly $1.9 billion, approximately 10 per cent of the market."

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"I'm pleased to support the Excise Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 2024 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 2024. These bills will increase the excise and customs duty on tobacco goods by five per cent per year for three years, in addition to the ordinary biannual indexation. These amendments cannot come soon enough when it comes to the scourge of vaping. Labor is taking on the tobacco industry so it cannot succeed in getting a new generation addicted to nicotine."

More here >>

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Perrett Graham Is Wrong, Here's Why:

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Perrett Graham MP’s speech on smoking and vaping contains several inaccuracies and misleading claims. Here is a fact-based rebuttal addressing why his arguments are flawed.

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1. Misrepresentation of Vaping’s Role in Smoking Cessation

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Perrett suggests that vaping is a major public health threat rather than an important harm reduction tool. However, the scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports vaping as one of the most effective methods for quitting smoking:

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• Public health authorities support vaping for quitting smoking – The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and Public Health England state that vaping is one of the most effective stop-smoking aids available​​.

• Research shows vaping is at least as effective as nicotine replacement therapy (NRTs) – A Cochrane review, one of the most respected sources for medical evidence, confirmed that vaping is more effective than other smoking cessation aids​.

• Countries encouraging vaping have seen steeper declines in smoking – In the UK and New Zealand, where vaping is regulated but accessible, smoking rates have fallen faster than in Australia, where access is heavily restricted​.

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Fact: Instead of reducing smoking, Australia’s restrictive vaping policies have resulted in fewer quitting options and a rise in black market sales​.

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2. No Evidence Supports the "Gateway Effect" Between Vaping and Smoking

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Perrett claims that "young people who vape are three times more likely to take up smoking."

However, this misrepresents the research:

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• The association between vaping and smoking is due to shared risk factors, not causation. Many studies indicate that young people who experiment with vaping are those already at risk of smoking​.

• Youth smoking rates are at record lows. If vaping were leading to increased smoking, we would see youth smoking rates rise, yet they continue to decline significantly in countries where vaping is widely available​.

• The UK Royal College of Physicians dismisses the "gateway theory". Their report states that there is no credible evidence that vaping causes non-smokers to start smoking​.

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Fact: Vaping is more likely to divert young people away from smoking rather than lead them to it. The focus should be on preventing cigarette uptake rather than banning safer alternatives​.

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3. Banning Legal Vapes Will Fuel the Black Market

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Perrett supports banning the importation, sale, and use of non-therapeutic vapes, but this approach has already failed in Australia:

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• The black market is thriving. Australia’s prescription-only model has led to a flood of illicit vaping products sold without any quality control​.

• Prohibition doesn’t stop access – it removes regulation. Youth can still purchase unregulated vapes online or through black-market suppliers, making the situation more dangerous​.

• Other countries show that regulation, not prohibition, is the solution. The UK allows regulated retail sales of vapes, ensuring strict age verification and safety standards​.

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Fact: Banning legal vapes will only strengthen criminal supply chains while denying adult smokers access to a safer alternative​.

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4. Misrepresenting the Risks of Nicotine and Vaping

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Perrett suggests that nicotine itself is highly dangerous, which is misleading:

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• Nicotine is not the cause of smoking-related diseases. The harm from smoking comes from tar, carbon monoxide, and thousands of combustion byproducts, not nicotine​.

• Nicotine has been used safely for decades in NRTs. Products like patches and gum contain nicotine, yet they are widely recommended to help smokers quit​.

• There is no evidence linking vaping to lung cancer. Cancer Research UK has confirmed that vaping does not cause cancer and is far less harmful than smoking​.

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Fact: The goal should be to eliminate combustible tobacco use, not nicotine itself, as nicotine is not the primary cause of smoking-related diseases​.

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5. Increasing Tobacco Taxes Without a Safer Alternative Harms Low-Income Australians

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Perrett argues that higher tobacco taxes are the best way to reduce smoking, but this approach disproportionately affects vulnerable groups:

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• Higher tobacco taxes burden low-income Australians. Many smokers in lower-income brackets struggle to quit because they lack access to safer alternatives like vaping​.

• Without vaping, tax hikes can lead to financial stress rather than quitting. In countries where vaping is easily available, higher cigarette prices drive smokers to switch to safer options – but Australia denies this choice​.

• Taxation alone doesn’t solve addiction. Long-term solutions require harm reduction strategies, not just punitive financial penalties​.

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Fact:  Without access to regulated vaping products, higher tobacco taxes disproportionately harm the most disadvantaged Australians while failing to offer a viable quitting method​.

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6. Vaping Does Not Have the Same Health Risks as Smoking

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Perrett groups vaping and smoking together as major public health risks, but this ignores key scientific findings:

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• Vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians confirm this in multiple independent reviews​.

• Most of the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke are absent in vape aerosol. Unlike cigarette smoke, vape aerosol does not contain tar, carbon monoxide, or the thousands of harmful chemicals from combustion​.

• "Popcorn lung" and other vaping myths have been debunked. Diacetyl, the chemical linked to "popcorn lung," was banned in UK e-liquids in 2016, and there has never been a confirmed case of popcorn lung from vaping​.

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Fact: While vaping is not risk-free, its risks are substantially lower than smoking, making it an essential harm reduction tool​.

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Perrett Graham MP’s arguments against vaping rely on misconceptions, cherry-picked data, and a misunderstanding of harm reduction strategies. The reality is:

✅ Vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and helps people quit​.
✅ There is no strong evidence that vaping leads to smoking – youth smoking rates continue to decline​.
✅ Banning legal vapes fuels the black market and exposes users to unregulated products​.
✅ Nicotine is not the cause of smoking-related diseases – combustion is​.
✅ Higher tobacco taxes without safer alternatives hurt low-income Australians the most​.

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Policy Recommendation:

Australia should follow the evidence-based models used in the UK and New Zealand:

• Allow tightly regulated retail sales of nicotine vapes to adults.

• Implement strict age verification laws to prevent youth access.

• Introduce public health campaigns to educate people about the relative risks of smoking, vaping, and nicotine.

• Ensure that vape products meet safety and quality standards.

This balanced approach would help smokers quit, reduce smoking-related diseases, and protect public health. Prohibition has failed – it’s time to embrace harm reduction.

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