The Australian Medical Association, Australian Dental Association NSW, the Heart Foundation, Cancer Council NSW, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and Asthma Australia are all calling for the NSW Government to ban the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas.
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There are 22 professional bodies and health organisations urging the government to amend legislation to stop e-cigarettes being used in areas where smoking is not allowed.
Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have all already enacted legislation to protect their communities from exposure to e-cigarettes, and last week South Australia passed legislation in its lower house on e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are not included in the Smoke Free Environment Act 2000, which prohibits smoking in certain public places. That means e-cigarettes – including those containing nicotine – can be used in enclosed spaces such as schools, offices, cafes, shopping centres and on public transport, exposing bystanders to vapour.
E-cigarettes are relatively new and research is continuing into the safety and toxicity of the vapour they produce. Recent reviews of the safety of e-cigarettes have highlighted the need to take a precautionary approach.
“We don’t fully understand the health impact e-cigarettes will have on individuals yet but there is cause for concern, especially for the lungs of the most vulnerable people in our community – babies, young children, people with medical conditions and the elderly,” said Professor Allan Glanville, President of the Thoracic Society. “We need to take a precautionary approach now to protect the general public while that evidence is being rigorously collected and analysed.”
The organisations have written to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, urging him to protect the public by amending the Act to include e-cigarettes.
Mr Hazzard has told the ABC he supports the calls but wants a national approach to the issue.
“We all thought e-cigarettes were a happy medium but now … research is unfolding that they’re problematic,” he told the ABC. “It would be preferable if we could have all Governments around the country look at this issue and try and come to an approach where it’s exactly the same on one side of the border to the other.”
