Salesa JennyThird ReadingHon JENNY SALESA (Associate Minister of Health): I move That the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. In 1990 the then Minister of Health the Rt Hon Helen Clark began her third reading speech on the Smoke-free Environments Act stating—and I quote—There has been [a] lengthy debate on the Bill. It is complex with a very simple humanitarian purpose: to combat the appalling death toll that is caused by the consumption of tobacco in our society." Those words are just as relevant today for this the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill as they were when the Act was first introduced.This bill amends the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 to better regulate vaping products and smokeless tobacco products. It is the most significant change to the Act since the introduction and it covers a range of issues from advertising promotion and sponsorship to product notification and safety. A lot of thought time and care have been put into crafting this bill and bringing it to this stage.I want to acknowledge and thank all of those that have been part of this journey: members of Parliament the Ministry of Health and Government officials NGOs the tobacco control centre academics the Parliamentary Counsel Office responsible vape retailers and of course members of the public.The Smoke-free Environments Act was primarily designed for smoked tobacco products and doesn't adequately cover the range of regulated products that are available today. These products which include vaping and smokeless tobacco products need to be regulated properly to ensure that we protect our children and young people from the risks associated with these products as well as encouraging smokers to switch to significantly less harmful products.The bill will prohibit children under the age of 18 being sold a regulated product and will restrict access to a wide range of flavours to specialist R18 vape stores. The bill also reduces the normalisation of vaping and using heated tobacco devices prohibits their use in legislated smoke-free areas and prohibits the advertising and promotion of these products including on TV and social media. The bill will also ensure that smokers have access to vaping and heated tobacco devices that meet safety standards.I also want to pause and reflect on why it is that we're here today ready to pass this piece of legislation. We're here because on average every year around 5000 New Zealanders—or 13 lives a day—die because of smoking or second-hand smoking exposure. This is more than the number of people that we collectively lose from road crashes alcohol other drugs suicide murders drownings and earthquakes combined. That means that many of us at some point have experienced or will experience the pain that comes from losing someone we know and love—a family member a friend a colleague—due to smoking. We as a country do not want to continue this including grieving for so many loved ones each year. We want to take every practical step that we can to reduce the number of people that smoke and die from tobacco-related diseases—this includes supporting smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives including vaping products. We're also here because we recognise that vaping products are not harmless and should not be attractive or easily accessible to our tamariki and our young people.I'd like to conclude by reflecting on the progress that we've made today and the heart of this bill. Previous Governments of all descriptions have battled against smoking and tobacco for decades and pursued policies that sought to reduce the harm and death caused by tobacco. Today with the passing of this legislation we're collectively writing the next chapter of our story. At the heart of it this bill will help to reduce the number of New Zealanders that smoke and die from tobacco-related diseases by helping people to switch to less harmful products while also ensuring that we don't have a new generation of people addicted to nicotine.The next step in this work will be to publicly consult on the regulations that will give effect to this bill. This will take place after the election and will provide businesses members of the public NGOs and other stakeholders the opportunity to influence how it will be implemented.I strongly commend this bill in its final reading to the House. I look forward to seeing the improvement that this bill will make to the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders in the near future. Mālō 'aupito."