Public Health Amendment (Tobacco) Act 2000

Public Health Amendment (Tobacco) Act 2000

An Act to amend the Public Health Act 1997

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

1.   Short title

This Act may be cited as the Public Health Amendment (Tobacco) Act 2000 .

2.   Commencement

(1)  Sections 10 and 12 commence on 31 October 2000.

(2)  Sections 5 , 7 and 11 commence on 1 January 2001.

(3)  The remaining provisions of this Act commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3.   Principal Act

In this Act, the Public Health Act 1997 is referred to as the Principal Act.

4.    Section 3 amended (Interpretation)

Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting the following definition after the definition of authorised officer :

carton means a package that contains more than one packet of cigarettes;

(b) by inserting the following definition after the definition of child-care facility :

cigarette shipper means packaging that contains more than one carton;

(c) by inserting the following definition after the definition of closure order :

confectionery includes –

(a) sweets, chocolates and candy; and

(b) popcorn and other snack foods containing potato, nuts or cereal; and

(c) confectionery novelties; and

(d) muesli bars, fruit bars, health food bars and other similar products;

(d) by inserting the following definition after the definition of package :

packet means an individual packet containing tobacco product;

(e) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of private water source :

product line, in relation to a tobacco product, means a kind of tobacco product distinguishable from another kind of tobacco product by any one or more of the following characteristics:

(a) its length, mass or volume;

(b) its content;

(c) its brand name or trade mark;

(d) the number of cigarettes or cigars in the packet;

proof of age means  –

(a) a driver's licence; or

(b) a passport; or

(c) a class of document specified in the guidelines for the purpose of this definition;

(f) by inserting the following definition after the definition of regulated system :

sales unit means a receptacle, an area of shelving or any other thing from which tobacco products are dispensed when sold;

(g) by inserting the following definition after the definition of sell :

service area means an area –

(a) to which members of the public do not normally have access; and

(b) from where sales of tobacco products are ordinarily effected;

(h) by inserting the following definition after the definition of smoking :

specialist tobacconist premises means premises –

(a) operated independently and apart from any other retail business where only tobacco products, cigarette or pipe lighters and matches are sold; or

(b) determined under section 72B to be specialist tobacconist premises;

5.   Section 3 further amended (Interpretation)

Section 3 of the Principal Act is further amended by omitting "accessible to the public that sells tobacco product" from the definition of "tobacco product vending machine" and substituting "from which tobacco product is dispensed".

6.    Section 64 amended (Sale to children)

Section 64 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (7) the following subsection:

(8)  An allegation in a complaint in proceedings for an offence under this section that on a specified date a person was a child is evidence of that fact.

7.    Section 65 substituted

Section 65 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

65.   Vending machines

The owner or lessee of premises at which a tobacco product vending machine is situated must ensure that the machine is not able to be operated by a member of the public without his or her assistance or the assistance of a person acting on his or her behalf.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

8.    Section 67A inserted

After section 67 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 1:

67A.   Monitoring compliance

(1)  The Director may authorise persons or a class of persons to carry out approved activities in order to monitor compliance with this Part.

(2)  A person authorised under subsection (1) who carries out approved activities under that subsection is not guilty of an offence under section 73 of the Justices Act 1959 in relation to an offence under section 64 .

9.    Part 4, Division 1A inserted

After section 67 of the Principal Act , the following Division is inserted in Part 4:

Division 1A - Smoking prohibited in certain areas

67B.   Smoking in theatres and cinemas

(1)  A person must not smoke any tobacco product in a theatre or cinema.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

(2)  The manager of a theatre or cinema must not permit any person to smoke any tobacco product in the theatre or cinema.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

(3)  This section does not apply to the smoking of a tobacco product if it is part of a live stage performance.

10.    Section 70 amended (Display of tobacco products and advertisements)

Section 70(3) of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (a) and substituting the following paragraph:

(a) more than one packet of each product line of a tobacco product at any premises; or

11.    Section 71 amended (Display on machines)

Section 71 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting "or a device for storing or securing tobacco products must ensure that the machine or device does not display any tobacco advertising or wording, other than wording" and substituting "must ensure that the machine does not display any tobacco advertising or wording other than wording or a type or class of wording".

12.    Sections 72A and 72B inserted

After section 72 of the Principal Act , the following sections are inserted in Division 2:

72A.   Display in public areas

(1)  A person must not display any tobacco product within 75 centimetres of any other displayed product designed or marketed for the use of a child.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(2)  A person must not display any packet of tobacco product unless it is in a sales unit.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 25 penalty units.

(3)  A person must ensure that a sales unit in which tobacco product is displayed –

(a) is not on any counter accessible to the public; and

(b) is wholly within the service area except for one tobacco product vending machine that may be situated outside the service area; and

(c) does not display more than 150 packets of tobacco product in it; and

(d) does not display a price ticket or price board, otherwise than in accordance with the guidelines; and

(e) does not have a device that causes movement, visible to the public, of any part of the sales unit or tobacco product; and

(f) does not have a mirror or other reflective device, interior lighting, exterior lighting attached to the sales unit or external spotlighting; and

(g) is not positioned so that the packet of tobacco product faces more or less towards a window or a public entrance unless –

(i) the direction faced is perpendicular to the plane of the window or the public entrance; or

(ii) the window or public entrance is at least 2 metres from the display.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(4)  A person must ensure that tobacco products in a sales unit are not displayed in an area that exceeds 4 square metres.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(5)  A person must not display tobacco product in more than one sales unit in any premises.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(6)  Subsection (3)(a) and (c) , subsection (4) and subsection (5) do not apply to specialist tobacconist premises.

(7)  A person must not display any tobacco product in premises where it is sold using any of the following to enhance the display:

(a) colour coding of the premises in colours that form part of the usual packaging of the tobacco product within 5 metres of the tobacco product;

(b) lines, borders and other visual design effects that make the display stand out;

(c) partial imaging or wording of the packaging of the tobacco product;

(d) mirrors or other reflective devices that reflect images of the tobacco product or any other product prohibited from display;

(e) holograms linked to the display;

(f) empty packets, cartons, cigarette shippers and boxes of tobacco product;

(g) cabinets or display cases that contain trademark, colours or wording usually used in packaging of the tobacco product, except for a device containing no designs, colours, fabrics or wording usually associated with the packaging of the tobacco product that is used to allow a tobacco product to be extracted.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(8)  A person must not display a carton or a cigarette shipper in any public place.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(9)  Subsection (8) does not apply to a person who –

(a) sells tobacco product only in cartons; and

(b) complies with section 70(3)(a) and this section as if the cartons were packets.

72B.   Specialist tobacconist premises

(1)  The Director, by notice in writing, may determine that specified premises are or are not specialist tobacconist premises.

(2)  In making the determination, the Director may take into account whether or not products at the premises are able to be purchased lawfully by a child.

(3)  A person may appeal to a magistrate against the determination of the Director that premises are not specialist tobacconist premises.

13.    Section 156 substituted

Section 156 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

156.   Inciting and encouraging

(1)  A person must not incite or encourage another person to commit an offence under this Act.

Penalty:  Fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or both.

(2)  Subsection (1) does not apply to a person authorised under section 67A to carry out any approved activity for the purpose of that section.

[Second reading presentation speech made in:

House of Assembly on 1 DECEMBER 1999

Legislative Council on 5 APRIL 2000]