The Public Health Act 1997 includes provisions banning the sale or supply of tobacco products to children. A child is defined as "A person who has not attained the age of 18 years".
Tobacco Retailers are encouraged to ask for proof of age prior to selling cigarettes to a young person. Acceptable proof of age documents include:
- A drivers licence;
- A passport;
- A photographic Key Pass identification card issued by the Commonwealth Key Register;
- A photographic firearms licence issued by Tasmania Police under the Firearms Act 1996; or
- A Tasmanian Government Proof of Age card.
For further information refer to the Guidelines for Proof of Age (Tobacco Products) 2000.
The Department of Health and Human Services uses a number of different strategies to enforce the prohibition on the sale of cigarettes to children. These include:
Compliance Surveys:
Quit Tasmania conducts compliance surveys periodically for the Department. Surveys check to see if retailers are selling tobacco products to people under 18 years of age using teenage volunteers. Compliance surveys are a research tool to test compliance with the law and are not used as the basis for prosecution.
The results of pervious surveys conducted by Quit Tasmania are highlighted in the following reports:
- Too Young: Too Easy (June 2006)
- Brick Wall (June 2004)
- No Idea (March 2003)
- Don't Harm the Lives of Children (January 2000)
- Way Out West (December 2000)
Information from surveys is provided to the Department and can be used as the basis for controlled purchase operations.
Controlled Purchase Operations:
Controlled Purchase Operations are conducted by Tobacco Control Officers from the Department and use teenage volunteers to test whether retailers are selling tobacco products to people under 18 years of age. They are not conducted by Quit Tasmania. Controlled Purchase Operations are approved activities under the Public Health Act 1997 for testing compliance with the law. When a sale is made evidence is referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution.
Enforcement Policy:
The Department's enforcement policy in relation to the sale of cigarettes to children is to prosecute when an offence is detected. Warnings are generally not issued. This means that
retailers who are found to have sold cigarettes face immediate prosecution and a maximum fine of $6,000 for a first offence and $12,000 for a subsequent offence and licence cancellation.