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Speaker 1: Well, let's hope that the availability of vapes for young

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Speaker 1: people's going to be curved when a sales ban begins

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Speaker 1: next week, despite the Federal government weakening the proposed laws

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Speaker 1: to get the Greens on side. Now, the Federal government's

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Speaker 1: expected to pass this bill this week. It will restrict

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Speaker 1: the sale of vapes to pharmacies, with products limited to

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Speaker 1: regulate it plane packaged nicotine vapes with menthol or tobacco flavoring.

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Speaker 1: But it has dropped the original plan to restrict sales

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Speaker 1: only to people with a prescription obtained through a GP,

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Speaker 1: agreeing with the Greens to allow any adult to purchase

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Speaker 1: vapes from pharmacists from October without the need for a prescription. Now,

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Speaker 1: joining us on the line to talk a little bit

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Speaker 1: more about this is the head of the AMA, the

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Speaker 1: Australian Medical Association here in the Northern Territory, doctor Robert Parker.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, morning Codie. Now, doctor Parker, looks

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Speaker 1: like the initial plans are going to be weakened slightly

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Speaker 1: with no need for a script, but people will still

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Speaker 1: need to prove that they're own for eighteen and they're

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Speaker 1: going to need to make that purchase obviously at a pharmacy.

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Speaker 1: What do you make of these changes?

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Speaker 2: Well, again, were the AMA is very happy that ovates

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Speaker 2: are going to be restricted. Obviously it's a major concern

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Speaker 2: about the widespread use of ates, particularly among younger people

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Speaker 2: now and the potential, I opposed to the lead to

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Speaker 2: further to baco years and also the fact that the

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Speaker 2: industry is very unregulated. Ma I was remember an article

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Speaker 2: I saw about the manufacturer of vates in the past

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Speaker 2: China that looked like Hell's kitchens. We're bubbling that of

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Speaker 2: chemicals that no one knew it was about. So I

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Speaker 2: think the restriction on it and putting a few barriers

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Speaker 2: in place to do seltie availability is going to be

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Speaker 2: very welcome.

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Speaker 1: Now do you reckon it's going to see a change

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Speaker 1: when it comes to young people accessing vates. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I guess that's what we would all like to see.

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Speaker 2: The concern of sizes to be an explosion of black

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Speaker 2: mars issues as it is happening in Victoria at the

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Speaker 2: moment with all those tobacco stores being burned, and obviously

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Speaker 2: a major underworld conflict about illegal tobacco potentially could affect

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Speaker 2: vapes as well. But I mean the omail I suppose

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Speaker 2: is happy that now the only children will have to

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Speaker 2: get a script off a GP, because it's going to

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Speaker 2: reduce the pressure on GP appointments. And I presume GP's

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Speaker 2: facing a whole bunch of angry consumers demanding their faiths

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Speaker 2: and not potentially getting them. But I understand that the

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Speaker 2: high issue of pharmacy is in disarray at the moment

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Speaker 2: with the processes a pharmacists need to actually obtain vapes

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Speaker 2: and to stop them being very disorganized. So I don't

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Speaker 2: think the farmacists are very happy about the change either.

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Speaker 1: No, that's the difficult thing here at the moment, isn't

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Speaker 1: it is trying to work out those the ways in

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Speaker 1: which it's sort of going to roll out. I guess

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Speaker 1: for the pharmacists and for those pharmacies and not wanting

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Speaker 1: to see them sort of. I guess going through that

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Speaker 1: real difficult process of trying to you know, there's always

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Speaker 1: going to be a difficult process, I guess when you're

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Speaker 1: teething through these issues but trying to make it as

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Speaker 1: seamless as possible.

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Speaker 2: That's correct, you know. I think there's significant organizational processes

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Speaker 2: in respective pharmacies that haven't been ironed out in vaping

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Speaker 2: stores about what to do. But yeah, I gather there's

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Speaker 2: a lot of disquiet among the farmercises about the changes.

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Speaker 1: I mean, there's been a lot of discussion about the

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Speaker 1: fact that these vapes, in a lot of cases, the

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Speaker 1: disposable ones, seem to be targeted at young people, you know,

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Speaker 1: these different flavors, the packaging, all of that kind of thing. Hope,

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Speaker 1: I mean, I'm hopeful that it makes a difference because

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Speaker 1: a lot of the discussion that you sort of tend

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Speaker 1: to have is that it is young people in some

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Speaker 1: cases in schools, you know, they're on the school bus

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Speaker 1: everywhere using these vapes.

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Speaker 2: That's correct, and it's become a very both popular use

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Speaker 2: of substance abuse in young people. And of course nicotine

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Speaker 2: is an incredibly addictive substance, so it's always the issue

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Speaker 2: a big tobacco trying to get people addicted so they

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Speaker 2: then move into tobacco products later. So it is a

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Speaker 2: major concern. You know, there's been some marvelous programs to

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Speaker 2: reduce smoking smoking related different disability among Australians, and the

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Speaker 2: current because a significant step backwards and the whole and

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Speaker 2: the whole evolution of this health campaign.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Look, it's obviously going to spell the end for

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Speaker 1: those dedicated vaping retailers. You would think that would have

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Speaker 1: you know, that would have spread through the suburbs to

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Speaker 1: sell flavored products particularly popular with young people. Do you

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Speaker 1: think that that's going well, I mean, I've sort of

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Speaker 1: touched on it, but do you think the fact that

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Speaker 1: people are going to have to go into the chemist

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Speaker 1: and potentially have to speak to a pharmacist before purchasing

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Speaker 1: these vapes? Surely it will like, surely it's going to

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Speaker 1: make things harder.

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Speaker 2: Well, that's right, and there's going to be a couple

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Speaker 2: of steps before you know, convincing someone. Suppose an adult's

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Speaker 2: got a right to say I'm a smoker. I suppose

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Speaker 2: it's because it actually stops children then accessing it. The

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Speaker 2: main problem area at the moment is obviously significant issue

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Speaker 2: as well, but the popularity of vaping among children is

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Speaker 2: the main concern of the moment, and the fact that

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Speaker 2: is a b to nicotine is a significant health issue.

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Speaker 2: I suppose the only you know, there probably will be

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Speaker 2: an evolving black market unfortunately, but it is a step

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Speaker 2: towards trying to controller an evolving epidemic. I suppose of

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Speaker 2: addiction that potentially be very helpful.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, doctor Parker from a real health perspective, like at

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Speaker 1: the moment in terms of you know, of the vaping

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Speaker 1: that we are seeing across the Northern Territory, are you like,

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Speaker 1: are there many people coming in to our healthcare centers

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Speaker 1: with associated issues when it comes to vaping or is

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Speaker 1: it sort of still early days? I suppose with vaping

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Speaker 1: to sort of see just how harmful these impacts.

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Speaker 2: Could be, Okatie, I'm not aware anecdotally of lung issues

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Speaker 2: that have similar to issues that have occurred with vaping

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Speaker 2: in the US, for example, where people suffer significant lung

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Speaker 2: damage related to vaping. So I'm not aware of any

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Speaker 2: cases in the territory like that. I suppose the main

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Speaker 2: concern obviously is the addictive nature of it, and you know,

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Speaker 2: the nicotine and developing a significant nicotine addiction which strives

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Speaker 2: to further vaping.

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Speaker 1: Before I let you go, I mean, if they had

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Speaker 1: gone down the path with the scripts, do you reckon

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Speaker 1: that would have been difficult for GPS to manage?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think it would have placed existing you know

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Speaker 2: already we know that it's quite difficult to get GP appointments.

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Speaker 2: It would have put massive pressure on GP practices, probably

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Speaker 2: from smokers trying to get scripts to and again make

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Speaker 2: it even more difficult to access the GP than it

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Speaker 2: currently is. People trying to get scripts for vaping, and

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Speaker 2: again the whole is shoe of people having to wait

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Speaker 2: a couple of weeks a month, people going through nicotine

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Speaker 2: withdraw whiches and you know the potential issues with that.

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Speaker 2: So I think there was at least pharmacists that are

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Speaker 2: probably more available, and you can get to see a

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Speaker 2: farmatus more quickly. You know, you tend to see some

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Speaker 2: GPS at time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, doctor Parker, how have things been going, you know

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Speaker 1: in our hospital system and everywhere?

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Speaker 2: Okay, there was one issue. AMA last night was had

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Speaker 2: a bit of a discussion about the evolving gas industry.

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Speaker 2: I know, there's arguments pro and con. The one thing

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Speaker 2: we are concerned about is the parent lack of monitoring devices.

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Speaker 2: We understand there's very few and it's pretty catchy. So

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Speaker 2: the AMA is going to be talking to the government about,

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Speaker 2: you know, better monitoring to help you know, I think

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Speaker 2: it's very important that there are potential helpless associated with

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Speaker 2: gas and petroleum development, and you know, the AMA hasn't

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Speaker 2: got a particular stance either way at the moment that

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Speaker 2: we feel it's important that the government is better informed

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Speaker 2: about the quality of air in Darwin so it can

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Speaker 2: make decisions. So the AMA is going to be talking

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Speaker 2: to the government about that right. In terms of the hospital, yes,

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Speaker 2: I'm not aware of any you know, we are very busy.

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Speaker 2: I mean the issue of dead block, you know, individuals

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Speaker 2: who would be better cared for nursing homes or disability

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Speaker 2: accommodation is a constant one saying to bed block. It's

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Speaker 2: good to see that the government has budgeted for this

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Speaker 2: new HVA facility at Parmerston Hospital which potentially will accommodate

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Speaker 2: appropriate care for these individuals. But it's still you know,

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Speaker 2: the territory hospital is still a sort of crisis in

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Speaker 2: day to day. I mean, we're you know, and it

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Speaker 2: doesn't take very much to tip us into another Code yellow. Yes,

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Speaker 2: just because of that, because of currentages of dead block

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Speaker 2: and constant pleasure on the hospitals I've talked to you

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Speaker 2: about previously.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, doctor Parker, just going back to that monitoring

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Speaker 1: of the equality and wanting better monitoring of the equality.

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Speaker 1: So you're going to have a catch up with the

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Speaker 1: government about this. I mean, what would the AMA like

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Speaker 1: to see.

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Speaker 2: Well, I suppose more monitoring stations and more visibility as

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Speaker 2: to the reporting from them. We understand there's only if

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Speaker 2: you at the moment, and it's pretty patchy about the

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Speaker 2: data coming out from those. So we feel that, you know,

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Speaker 2: the citizens of Darwin are deserve a better monitoring to

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Speaker 2: check if there are excessive levels of chemicals the competially

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Speaker 2: effects health and we're not We're uncertain of the moment,

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Speaker 2: and we certainly feel that the citizens deserve better quality

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Speaker 2: monitoring just to check if there are health issues emerging

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Speaker 2: from the gap industry.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I think that's a fair call to make

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Speaker 1: in terms of that monitoring happening and making sure that

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Speaker 1: it is happening so we can check the equality. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I know myself, like I suffer from asthma and some

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Speaker 1: days it's horrendous. I think it is because of the bushfires.

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Speaker 1: But some of the things that are associated with that

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Speaker 1: air quality can be quite detrimental towards some people or

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Speaker 1: for some people in their lives.

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Speaker 2: That's right, Well, there are some health consequences associated with

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Speaker 2: some of the chemicals, but again, I think it's you

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Speaker 2: know again, they may is not pro or our development

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Speaker 2: at the moment, but we are. We think it's important

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Speaker 2: to get more evidence can form an opinion.

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Speaker 1: And so due to catch up with the government over

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Speaker 1: the coming days, hopefully, doctor Parker, or not.

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Speaker 2: Sure yet, Well it's going to be, I mean obviously

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Speaker 2: with the election learning, we're not expecting a lot of

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Speaker 2: progress at the moment with any sort of but we will,

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Speaker 2: we will mention it to government and just you know,

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Speaker 2: and hopefully that will progress for one of some stage.

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Speaker 1: Well, doctor Robert Parker. Always good to speak with you.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Good to talk to you, Kenny.

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Speaker 1: Thank you