Page 3155 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 September 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
There is a danger in what you are doing here tonight, and you have been told this. Do not believe me, as the Labor Health Minister; do not believe Wayne Berry, as the former Labor Health Minister; but what you are being told by the Australian Medical Association, the Cancer Society of New South Wales and the National Heart Foundation is, "Do not do it. Think again". Unless you are scientifically convinced that Australian Standard 1668.2 provides a safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, do not do it. That is what you are being told by the experts.
Take the politics out of the debate. You do not have to accept what I say; but, for heaven's sake, listen to what the experts are saying. The use of that Australian standard as a basis for exempting places from a general prohibition on smoking in enclosed public places has been deemed to be wrong by Standards Australia, the people who write the standards. They say that they suspect that the risk that environmental tobacco smoke presents may not be limited by adherence to AS1668.2. You are premising all of this on a safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Nobody, apart from the tobacco companies, will tell you that AS1668.2 gives you that safe level. Standards Australia says that it does not. The New South Wales Workcover Authority says:
It should be noted that because of the large number of chemicals in tobacco smoke, there is no internationally accepted standard which provides specific guidance on passive smoking.
So there is no safe standard. The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission says:
The extent to which these requirements -
referring to Australian Standard 1668.2 -
alleviate the risk resulting from environmental tobacco smoke does not appear to have been quantified.
Dr Brendan Nelson of the AMA - he is not somebody who has been a noted supporter of Labor administrations over the years - says:
The AMA does not support the granting of any exemptions based on the inappropriate use of the air quality standard AS1668.2-1992. This is not an appropriate standard and would be difficult to monitor.
The New South Wales Cancer Society, writing on behalf of themselves and the National Heart Foundation, says:
The NSW Cancer Society and the National Heart Foundation are very concerned that amendments will allow exemptions based on AS1668.2 ... ACT law may set a standard for similar legislation in other States ...
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .