❓ The Minister for Health addresses the reduction in smoking rates among WA children and the anticipated positive impact of upcoming tobacco legislation, particularly regarding point-of-sale displays. The response is somewhat sidetracked by political point-scoring.
AnsweredQoN 717Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SMOKING — CHILDREN
(1) Can the minister advise the house about the fantastic news he announced today on the reduction in the figures for smoking by children? (2) What effect does he think that the tobacco legislation, which will hopefully be on the table again today with unanimous support from all members of this house, will have on the future of Western Australian children? Dr K.D. HAMES
(1) Can the minister advise the house about the fantastic news he announced today on the reduction in the figures for smoking by children? (2) What effect does he think that the tobacco legislation, which will hopefully be on the table again today with unanimous support from all members of this house, will have on the future of Western Australian children? Dr K.D. HAMES
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
(2) What effect does he think that the tobacco legislation, which will hopefully be on the table again today with unanimous support from all members of this house, will have on the future of Western Australian children? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: (1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: (1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
(1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
(2) What effect does he think that the tobacco legislation, which will hopefully be on the table again today with unanimous support from all members of this house, will have on the future of Western Australian children? Dr K.D. HAMES replied: (1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES replied: (1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
(1)-(2) I missed the start of the question, but luckily I knew it was coming. This is exceptionally good news. We are talking about preventing children from smoking in the future, and the latest statistics for the percentage of children aged 12 to 17 who smoke are extremely encouraging. The numbers have continued to drop. In 1984, 17.5 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 years had smoked within the previous week. That figure went down in 2005 to 6.1 per cent. The latest figure is only 4.8 per cent. Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr E.S. Ripper : What year are those figures for? Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : They are the latest figures—2008. Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr E.S. Ripper : Those all progressed during the Labor Party period in government. Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I know the Leader of the Opposition tries to get credit, but he forgets that I was there at the opening of the Mandurah railway line. The then minister rattled on about how good the Labor government was at building the railway line. There was not a mention of the involvement that our government had in the lead-up. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Armadale! I formally call the member for Armadale for the second time. Minister, I could not hear a word that you were saying, but I will presume, due to the noise in this place, they are probably words I do not want to hear again, so I would ask you to hasten the answer to the question that the member for Alfred Cove has put to you. Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : It would have been extremely difficult to hear. What the Labor government did was to give an award for 10 years of working on the project to a government employee. Hello! They had been in power for seven years. They gave a 10-year award but no credit to this side of the house for the work it did. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Member for Perth! Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : I will get back to the subject of smoking, because it is good news. It means that 40 000 people who would otherwise have died as a result of smoking will no longer die. It is hard to imagine that just that change in percentage would make that sort of difference, but it does. It will be over the next 40 years, but 40 000 people would have died as a result of smoking in childhood. Particularly good is the fact that 16-year-olds have significantly reduced their level of smoking, as have females. I do not have the figure for females but I know the percentage has gone down. Smoking in 16-year-olds has gone down from 9.9 per cent to 6.7 per cent. That is great news. The member for Alfred Cove’s legislation, which I am presuming will be passed later on today and which this government strongly supports, will make a further big difference, I believe, particularly with the provision on exposure at point of sale. The evidence is very strong. Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected. Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : Does the member really need to do that? Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
The SPEAKER : Members! The member for Joondalup and the member for Albany! Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
Dr K.D. HAMES : The evidence is very strong but removing a display at point of sale, particularly of tobacco products and the paraphernalia that goes with them, does significantly reduce the influence on young children and the numbers of young children starting smoking. So it is great news, and I look forward to the support of all the house as the legislation goes through.
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