Over the last decade, vaping have emerged as a significant national and global issue. This has sparked intense debate about the impacts of e-cigarettes and vaping on public health, the environment, community safety due to the involvement of organised crime groups, and Australia’s world-leading success in reducing population-level cigarette use. This panel brings together experts from diverse fields to explore the complexities of this pressing issue. Despite Australia’s claim of a world leading regulatory framework, e-cigarettes continue to be imported, sold, and used beyond state control. Addressing topics
such as a new age of nicotine dependence, impact on children and young people, lost tax revenue, effective regulatory models, as well as ethical and philosophical considerations, the panel offers a multifaceted discussion to illuminate this challenging public health concern.
Vaping in focus: health, policy and regulation
Moderator
Dr Kate Seear | Professor, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society La Trobe University
Professor Kate Seear is a Professor at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society and an ARC Future Fellow. A solicitor with 20 years’ experience, she has a multidisciplinary background in sociology, gender studies, and law. Kate’s research explores socio-legal connections between law, alcohol, drugs, health, and gender. She co-edits Contemporary Drug Problems and co-convenes its conference. Previously, she was Associate Professor at Monash University and Academic Director of the South-Eastern Monash Legal Service.
Dr James Martin | Senior Lecturer, Criminology Course Director, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University
Dr James Martin is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Director of the Bachelor of Criminology at Deakin University. James is a leading researcher in the field of black markets, cybercrime, and the dark web trade in illicit drugs. He has published numerous books and research articles on these topics in some of the world’s most prestigious publications, including the British Medical Journal, Criminology & Criminal Justice, and the British Journal of Criminology.
James has also led and participated in large-scale research projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Institute of Criminology.
James is a founding member of the Cryptomarkets Research Hub, an inter-disciplinary research networks focused on the dark web illicit drugs trade with more than 100 members located around the world.
Emeritus Professor Wayne Hall | National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, University of Queensland
Wayne Hall is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Queensland’s National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research. A prolific researcher, he has authored or co-authored nine books, 91 book chapters, and nearly 800 peer-reviewed articles. His work has significantly influenced alcohol and drug education, cancer prevention, epidemiology, health policy, mental health, pharmaco-economics, and tobacco control. Wayne has also held visiting professorships at King’s College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Sydney’s National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
Dr David Hayward | Emeritus Professor of Public Policy and the Social Economy, RMIT University
Dr David Hayward is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy and Social Economy at RMIT. David is Chair of the Victorian Government’s Social Housing Regulation Review, and Fire Rescue Victoria’s Strategic Advisory Review. He is a former Dean of Business at Swinburne University and Dean of Social Science at RMIT. David’s primary research interest is the funding of social policy and is a regular commentator on social and economic affairs in Victoria, including leading analysis of Victorian State Budgets for the Victorian Council of Social Services.
Dr Mary Walker | Lecturer Philosophy, La Trobe University
Dr Mary Walker is a senior lecturer in Philosophy at Latrobe University and an affiliate member of the Centre for Agency, Values and Ethics at Macquarie University. Mary research interests include bioethics, philosophy of medicine, and personal identity, and has published on diverse topics such as ethical issues related to overdiagnosis, neurotechnologies, prostheses and artificial organs, definitions of health and disease, as well as drug and alcohol policy.
Dr Hester Wilson | GP and Addiction Medicine Specialist, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Dr Hester Wilson is a GP, addiction medicine specialist and chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Addiction Special Interest Group. Hester is Clinical Director for Murrumbidgee Local Health District Drug and Alcohol, as Medical Advisor for Population and Community Health in South-Eastern Sydney Local Health District, and in private practice in Sydney. She is currently undertaking a PhD looking at GPs’ experience of patients with chronic pain and prescription opioid use disorder.
Credited Persons