I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport held an extensive inquiry into the use and marketing of electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers in Australia, throughout the 45th Parliament;

(2) notes that the inquiry did not find, nor recommend, that e-cigarettes and personal vaporisers be considered to be 'health products', nor that they reduced harm to users;

(3) further notes that e-cigarettes and personal vaporisers:

(a) are not universally considered to be an effective tool in helping smokers to quit smoking or reduce consumption of nicotine products;

(b) may be considered to be a 'gateway' into the consumption of nicotine, tobacco and nicotine products; and

(c) involve the use of flagrant advertising and enticing flavours, which allure consumers to consume their substance;

(4) notes that the Senate is considering holding another superfluous inquiry into the use of such products, despite the House having held an extensive inquiry in the previous parliament;

(5) condemns any attempt from vested interests to promote the use of e-cigarettes and personal vaporisers within this parliament; and

(6) concurs with the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport in its findings, namely that independent experts at the Department of Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Therapeutic Goods Administration are well-placed to review the use and regulation of electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers.

There is a rotten smell in this building and it smells like big tobacco. I don't stand here to lecture or to judge or to demonise people who are trying to give up smoking. I want to make that clear because there will inevitably be attempts by some to paint my comments in that light. I stand here to raise serious and valid concerns about the influence of big tobacco on our democracy. Big tobacco, like many of the diseases it causes, is a malignant force.

I was part of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport in the 45th parliament, which held an extensive and fair inquiry into the use and marketing of electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers in Australia. The inquiry received over 350 submissions, many of them extensive. We held multiple public hearings and sought the expertise of a range of stakeholders and experts in their respective fields. I want to make it clear that that entire process would not have been possible without the dedicated team of the committee secretariat. I want to thank them for their diligence and hard work throughout that yearlong inquiry.

Our inquiry made a number of recommendations and acknowledged that independent experts at the Department of Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Therapeutic Goods Administration were well-placed to review the use and regulation of electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers and had previously made their views clear about their role in Australia.

We received information and submissions from virtually every health organisation in Australia, from the AMA to the College of Physicians, to Asthma Australia, to respiratory medicine Australia and to multiple other medical jurisdictions—all of which were quite clear in their view that electronic cigarettes and personal vaporisers should not be made available over the counter to all and sundry.

Now, unfortunately, we came up with a number of recommendations that were not considered appropriate by the tobacco industry. Among the inquiry's suggestions was the following: the TGA continues to oversee the classification of nicotine and relevant exemptions for nicotine products and the assessment of any electronic cigarette product as therapeutic goods. We also suggested the Australian government establish a regulatory process for assessing and restricting colourings and flavourings used in electronic cigarettes. The TGA subsequently undertook an inquiry into the availability of electronic cigarettes and nicotine products. They came out with a number of findings, which recommended there be absolutely no change to the availability of these products, that they not be available over the counter, and they were quite critical of the fact that these products were obviously targeted to young people with things like bubble gum flavourings, peaches and cream et cetera. They are clearly targeted at young people.

Subsequent to that TGA inquiry, Philip Morris—big tobacco—has come out with a 10-page criticism of the TGA fine. The TGA is a nationally and, indeed, internationally recognised authority, and yet big tobacco wasn't happy with what they found. Big tobacco has put pressure onto the Australian Senate, and the Senate has now recommended yet another inquiry, at the behest of big tobacco. This is shocking. This is big tobacco influencing our parliament to make addictive products available for our children. This is a disgrace. This is an absolute disgrace. You'll just have to forgive my cynicism, but this new undertaking has been made at the request of big tobacco. It's come forward rapidly. It really is unbelievable, to me, that our parliament would give in to big tobacco like this, and I would caution our Senate about having this inquiry and, indeed, about giving in to big tobacco. Thank you.