Licensed to be killed off

The government of the Australian state of Tasmania has published the final version of its five-year plan, Healthy Tasmania, which was put out for public consultation in December, according to a story by Elise Fantin for abc.net.au.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the $6.4 million plan contained 24 actions, mainly targeting smoking and obesity.

“We will be tripling the cost of tobacco seller licence fees, increasing compliance and enforcement, we will be providing options for more information to help people make the decision to quit even at the point of sale and we will be regulating the sale of e-cigarettes,” he was reported as saying.

It is estimated $1.8 million will be raised over four years by increasing the licence fee to $731 next year and about $1,100 by January 2018.

The funds will reportedly go towards a social media quit campaign, and employing more education and compliance officers.

Ferguson said he was not worried about a backlash from tobacco retailers.

“Along with the sale of tobacco it comes with the responsibility to fully fund the enforcement of tobacco legislation in this state,” he said.

“We will also be increasing the maximum penalty for providing tobacco to a young person.”

On Thursday, the government backed away from its move to lift the legal smoking age to at least 21.