The majority of Australians are non-smokers. Less than a quarter of adults smoke, but this has not always been the case.
In 2007 according to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS)1:
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16.6% of Australians aged 14 and over were current daily smokers. |
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19.4% of Australians were smokers – including daily, weekly and the occasional smoke. |
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More males were daily smokers than females. (18% males compared to 15.2% females). |
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12.6% of young people aged 18–19 years were daily smokers. |
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Only 2% of 12–15-year-olds were daily smokers. |
In addition, almost 15,000 Australians died of smoking related illnesses in 2004/05 (the most recent estimate available).2 Tobacco is responsible for 7.8% of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia3.
Smoking rates in South Australia
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In South Australia, adult smoking prevalence is measured yearly at the Health Omnibus Survey. In 2004 more than 250,000 adults (21.9%)were smokers. Smoking prevalence has dropped from 3.4% since 1998.7 |
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Approximately 1,130 South Australians die each year from tobacco related illnesses - about twelve times the deaths from road traffic accidents. 2 |
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Approximately 3,500 adolescents in South Australia become regular smokers each year8. Approximately two thirds will die from a tobacco-related disease if they continue to smoke. |
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Approximately 75,000 hospital bed-days per annum in South Australia are due to tobacco exposure (active smoking and passive smoking). The total cost to the South Australian community is in excess of $1.8 billion each year4. |
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About 18,000 South Australian school children are current smokers. (14% of school students aged 12-17 were smokers in 2002. This has declined from 17.8% in 1998) 5 |
Further Information:
Information Sheet: Tobacco in Australia
References
1 AIHW. 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: First results. Canberra: AIHW; 2008.
2 Collins DJ, Lapsley HM. The costs of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drug abuse to Australian society in 2004/05. Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing; 2008. Monograph Series no.64.
3 Begg S, Vos T, Barker B, Stevenson C, Stanley L, Lopez AD, 2007. The burden of disease in Australia 2003. PHE 82. Canberra: Australian Institute for Health and Welfare
4 Collins D J & Lapsley H M. (2003). The social costs of drug abuse in Australia in 1998. Canberra: National Drug Strategy Monograph Series.
5 Kriven, S. & Miller, C. (2000). School Children’s Survey 2002: Smoking prevalence and brand preference. Adelaide: TCRE.
6 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2005). Statistics on drug use in Australia 2004. AIHW Cat. No. PHE 62. Canberra: AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No. 15).
7 Health Omnibus Survey results age adjusted, supplied by Tobacco Control Research and Evaluation 2005
8 White, V & Scollo M. (2003) How many children take up smoking each year in Australia? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27, 359-360.
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