Page 1959 - Week 07 - Thursday, 31 May 1990
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MR MOORE (3.47): I thought I would say a few words on this particular subject. A number of people say that tobacco is one of the most addictive drugs that we have. It is very interesting that our methodology in dealing with this very addictive drug is to use the sorts of strategies which Mr Humphries has outlined here and on previous occasions and which Mr Berry had also indicated before him would be a Labor approach. That method is to apply more and more restrictions to make it more and more difficult and to encourage people, particularly with education and so forth, away from using this particular drug which has significant ill effects.
By and large, I think that this is a good opportunity for us to sit back and have a look at this approach to dealing with drugs by making sure that there is a severe restriction on them. We should consider using this approach on other drugs as well. For example, alcohol, which is very readily available at the moment, could also go through a series of further restrictions so that access is difficult. Of course, education goes with that.
One thing to note about cigarettes and tobacco products is that we have been particularly successful as a society in reducing the amount of tobacco used. We should look at our methodology and we should try to apply that methodology to other drugs as well.
MR BERRY (3.49): I am happy to rise today on World No Tobacco Day to talk about what is a very important issue not only for Australia but also for the rest of the world, and in particular in these times for the Third World. There are, of course, tens of thousands of avoidable premature deaths per year. It is significant that the Federal Government funds anti-smoking campaigns under the national campaign against drug abuse and the drug offensive. That is a great initiative of the Federal Government. It recognises the serious role of tobacco addiction in this country.
As somebody who grew up in an era when it could have been argued that it was antisocial not to smoke, I was a smoker for many years, as was everybody in my family. I am happy to say that my father and mother have given up smoking - last time I was up there anyway - after 50 years of addiction to the dreaded weed. That was not until my father suffered from a serious heart ailment and was forced to have bypass surgery. With the magic of medicine, if we can describe it that way, he has recovered very well. But there is no doubt about it; like many other people my dad was affected to a large extent by tobacco. It is a curse, not only from a personal point of view for those who are affected by it but for all of those who are not smokers and who have to pay quite a lot in tax into the health system to assist in repairing illnesses that have occurred as a result of tobacco addiction. It causes the loss of production and, of course, some other tobacco related diseases.
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