Where current age restrictions imply that tobacco use after a certain age is safe or accepted, smoke-free generation policies recognise the innate harms of tobacco use at any age and aim to prevent addiction. Smoke-free generation laws and policies challenge the idea that tobacco use is a ‘rite of passage’.
In November 2024, the Commissioner designed a poll for teenagers in South Australia, which asked how much of an issue cigarette smoking is among their peers, whether they would support a law to stop people born after 2009 being sold cigarettes, and their thoughts on the benefits of a smoke-free generation. More than 200 teenagers aged 12-18 years responded to the poll.
Half (51%) of the teenagers polled saw smoking as ‘kind of an issue’ among their peers. The remaining respondents were split relatively evenly between seeing smoking as ‘not an issue’ (25%) and seeing smoking as a ‘big issue’ (24%). When asked about legislative reform, an overwhelming majority (91%) of teenagers expressed support for smoke-free generation legislation. Support was higher amongst young women (96%) compared to young men (78%).
The Commissioner expressed that it is critical that responses to smoking and vaping avoid punishing children and young people while also ensuring education, information and support is available, particularly for those who may be addicted or at risk of addiction.