Smoke-free and vape-free South Australia – what you need to know

Understanding the state’s new smoke-free and vape-free laws coming to our outdoor areas

New laws banning smoking and vaping in outdoor public areas will come into effect in South Australia on March 1.

The laws – the result of a public consultation held in April and May of 2023 – will create safer outdoor spaces and protect more South Australians from the dangers of second-hand smoking and vaping.

“Research in 2022 showed that more than 50 per cent of South Australians reported being exposed to someone else’s cigarette smoke in the past two weeks, and a lot of that exposure was in outdoor areas,” says Dr Clinton Cenko, manager, Tobacco and Alcohol Unit, Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia (DASSA).

“We know the damage breathing someone else’s tobacco smoke can cause, and now we’re getting a clearer picture that e-cigarettes share some of the same chemicals and pose some of the same risks.

“The State Government has introduced these laws in line with the evidence and the overwhelming view of South Australians that they want to clear the air from harmful tobacco smoke and e-cigarette emissions.”

Young South Australians and those with chronic lung conditions are set to reap the benefits of the new laws. “There are people who are quite severely affected by people smoking and vaping in close proximity to them, particularly those with chronic lung diseases, asthma and other illnesses or allergies,” Dr Cenko says.

“It’s about reducing exposure to those chemicals because there is plenty of evidence that passive smoking can be damaging in terms of lung disease, lung cancer and heart disease.

“On top of that, it’s about creating an environment for people to enjoy, particularly young people, where there’s no smoking or vaping going on around them – at the local sporting club, for example.”

While Dr Cenko expects most people will adhere to the new laws, both SA Health and SAPOL will have the power to enforce them as and when required.

“There is an on-the-spot fine of $105 and prosecution up to $750 for people vaping and smoking in these areas,” he says.

“The government is also looking to significantly increase those penalties across tobacco and vaping laws in general in the near future, including penalties for selling tobacco or e-cigarettes to a child.”

Heavy metals a chemical threat

DASSA clinical director Dr Victoria Cock. Picture: Supplied

What was once considered a smoking cessation aid could prove just as harmful to health as tobacco, a leading medical expert says.

Studies reveal vaping products can contain up to 42 chemicals, including a number of heavy metals, which can cause not just lung damage but affect other areas of the body, too. “We know that tobacco smoking causes cancer and chronic lung diseases and is related to cardiovascular risk factors including strokes, high blood pressure and heart attacks,” says Dr Victoria Cock, an addiction medical specialist and clinical director at the Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia (DASSA).

“Vaping or e-cigarettes haven’t been around long enough for us to know if they’re going to have a similar sort of effect in 10, 20 or 30 years, but there is evidence that younger people who are vaping have a propensity to develop asthma.

“It’s not just the nicotine content – vapes contain toxic substances like formaldehyde, mercury, copper, lead and arsenic, so one would assume that long-term there are going to be severe consequences related to vaping.”

While evidence suggests vaping can help with stopping smoking, it also shows ex-smokers who vape have a much higher chance of going back to smoking cigarettes than people who have never smoked or vaped. And, for Dr Cock, the number of young people vaping is of concern.

“Thirty-two per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds have tried a vape,” she says. “We have previously made big inroads into low smoking rates among young people and now the worry is the high use of e-cigarettes could turn that tide, with users possibly changing over to tobacco.”

As with second-hand tobacco smoking, second-hand vape inhalation is likely to also have an adverse effect on health. “There is evidence to suggest the large amount of toxins will be aerosolised into the surrounding area, which causes secondary inhalation damage,” Dr Cock says.

With the new laws actively reducing the number of public spaces available for smoking and vaping, Dr Cock says now is a good time to think about stopping – with help and support available to all South Australians. “Quitline is probably the biggest service available while DASSA runs the Quit your Way in May campaign, which is a great way for people to quit in a supported community,” Dr Cock says. “It has quite amazing results.”

Quitline: 13 78 48

DASSA: 1300 131 340

bevapefree.sa.gov.au

School’s plan for students to escape the vape

Yankalilla Area School principal Christine Bell. Picture: Russell Millard

The rise in the numbers of young students vaping is causing growing concern among South Australian educators, with new initiatives being introduced for schools to help combat the growing issue,

Department for Education data reveals that more than 1000 students are being suspended for vaping or selling vaping devices each year. In 2023, the State Government funded the Be Vape Free awareness campaign through SA Health and education programs, distributing vaping factsheets in schools and adding discussions on the effects of e-cigarettes to the health and physical education curriculum. Since then, school principals have made more than 100 reports a year to the Department for Education’s incident hotline.

It’s a concern felt by Yankalilla Area School principal Christine Bell, who for the past 12 months has witnessed first-hand the hold vaping has taken upon South Australia’s youth. “It started at the beginning of last year,” she says. “I remember the first time I had a couple of teachers come in and hand me this thing I thought was a whiteboard marker – it was the biggest thing ever.”

The failure of punitive measures such as suspending students caught vaping led Bell to reach out to the local community, holding a forum for families and students to raise concerns and define solutions. In June 2023, the school launched its Escape the Vape campaign. “We put signs up with a personal message from me – do you know what you’re vaping? – along with pictures of fly spray, nail polish and weed killer,” Bell says. “I still didn’t have a voice from the students so through a friend I contacted Taylor Walker from the Adelaide Football Club who agreed to come on board.

“We ran the same session for students aged 12-18 and ended up with 58 students, gathering another 12 ideas. The biggest thing that came out of this was these students needed an area where they could get help. There were some present who had started to identify they might be addicted.”

In response, the school – with funding from the Department for Education – installed a Wellbeing Hub where students can go for confidential advice and support, as well as installing a student wellbeing leader, qualified psychologist and drug and vape counsellor.

Bell also introduced parent information packs, helping them to start a conversation with their child about their vaping.

The changes have seen a significant reduction in vaping-related suspensions at the school, from an average of two per week to just one in the 10 weeks of term 4. Students are also self-referring to the vape counsellor.

“The biggest message I have had from students is: ‘Adults think we do this because we think it’s cool and it was at the beginning but now we’re addicted’,” Bell says. “Ninety per cent of the students we have identified as being addicted don’t want to be.

“We can’t keep going on suspending these children because it doesn’t work. It’s a problem now but it’s going to be far greater in five years if we don’t start putting some more education in now.”

Originally published as Smoke-free and vape-free South Australia – what you need to know