New legislation will include the expansion of smoke-free areas and tougher restrictions on cigarette sales in licenced venues.
The government recently announced new smoking laws along with a regime that will establish Queensland Health as the lead agency to enforce the new legislation and crack down on people who sell illicit tobacco.
“Queensland’s adult smoking rate has more than halved over the past two decades. Yet smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease, with one in five cancers attributable to tobacco use.”
Queensland Health officials will be supported by police for investigative and enforcement activities. The objective is to streamline the response from authorities to keep illegal tobacco off the streets. This replaces the current framework, which requires participation from multiple agencies across different levels of government.
"Queensland’s adult smoking rate has more than halved over the past two decades. Yet smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease, with one in five cancers attributable to tobacco use." said Cancer Council Queensland CEO Andrew Donne.
In addition to cracking down on illegal tobacco sales, the legislation will expand the number of smoke-free public spaces to protect people from the harms of second-hand smoke.
The new laws have received support from key stakeholders, including Cancer Council Queensland, Lung Foundation Australia and the Heart Foundation.
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