Expanded Definitions of Smoking and Smoking Products

ACT Expanded Definitions of Smoking and Smoking Products

Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping Goods) Amendment Bill 2025

17 Apr 2025: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

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Topics

cannabis use child safety electronic cigarettes public health smoking restrictions tobacco control vaping

Introduced by: The Hon Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA (ALP) — Minister for Finance, Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for the Public Service

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Smoking now includes using a personal vaporiser or vaping good; this applies to cannabis, tobacco, and herbal products.

A person is considered to be smoking if they inhale vapour; it also includes holding or controlling an activated smoking product.

People are not smoking if they hold a product to extinguish it or remove it from a restricted area.

The government can only ban specific smoking products if they have a fruity or sweet character; it also applies if the packaging attracts children.

Defendants under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act must meet specific legal burdens to prove their case in court.

The law removes the requirement for retail tobacconists to buy smoking products only from licensed wholesalers.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Rachel Stephen-Smith ALP

“I move: That this bill be agreed to in principle. I rise today to present the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping Goods) Amendment Bill 2025. The bill seeks to make amendments to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1927, orthetobacco act,toalignwiththecommonwealthvaping reforms introduced in 2024.”

Official source →

Leanne Castley IND

“I rise to make a very brief contribution to the debate on the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Vaping Goods) Amendment Bill 2025. The opposition has considered the bill in our usual way and we have no particular concerns. I note that the scrutiny committee and the social policy committee have both considered the bill and neither has raised any particular concerns.”