Page 3758 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 October 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
industry has sought to do that. For many years it has been seen as a legitimate part of life for the tobacco industry to promote the consumption of tobacco products among our young.
According to the last reports I have seen, about 30 per cent of young people between the ages of 16 and 18 consume tobacco products, mostly by way of smoking the stuff. For many years, the hearts and minds of youngsters were won over by the movie industry. We would all remember the wisps of smoke in that lovely old nostalgic film, Casablanca, and we would all remember what Sam did, but the main player, Humphrey Bogart, was a smoker and, as I recall, he died of cancer. That is something for us to remember. Many of us who have a few more years on our record would remember the days when the smoking of tobacco was seen as an all right leisure activity. That is why Labor, in office, moved to do something about tobacco consumption in the community. That is why we moved to introduce legislation which would reduce the consumption of tobacco in the community, and particularly amongst our youngsters.
I should say at this point, Mr Deputy Speaker, that amongst that 30 per cent which I mentioned a moment ago there is a high percentage of young women who are taking up tobacco consumption. I am told that it is probably higher than the males' percentage. It is a problem for young women as well, and it is a problem for women's health. It impacts on a productive life in the community for all sexes and ages as it affects health. And there is the loss of breadwinners, the loss of family members and so on.
After the new Government took over on 5 December, I moved to send in drafting instructions to the drafting counsel in the Government Law Office, because it was a priority of the Labor Opposition. As the record will show, we were refused those facilities to prepare legislation for early introduction into this place. We were refused on the basis that the Government was going to introduce that legislation, and therefore it would be a waste of resources for the Labor Party's request to be agreed to. That was over 10 months ago, and it has taken this long for us to get to a point where the legislation could be dealt with. It is also a matter of concern that much of the delay was caused by what was claimed to have been the need to consult. I suggest, Mr Deputy Speaker, that that consultation was another round of consultation with the tobacco industry, and I suspect that it was the very same round of consultation which had gone on with the Labor Party when it was in office before it committed itself to introduce the legislation.
We have been vocal about those delays and I think we were justified in being so, because for every month that we delay the introduction of that legislation there are just a few more youngsters who take up the habit. As those of us who have given up the habit in the past know, those people will find it difficult to give up the consumption of tobacco products.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .