Tobacco smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of death and disease in Australia. Smoking is estimated to kill almost 20,500 Australians a year (13% of all deaths) and was responsible for 8.6% of the total burden of disease in Australia in 2018[1]. It is associated with an increased risk of health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, eye disease and respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis[2].
There have been a range of tobacco control policies implemented in Australia since 1973 aimed at reducing smoking rates through measures such as taxation on tobacco products, restrictions on advertising, smoke-free laws in certain locations, information and warnings on tobacco packaging and mass media educational campaigns[3]. These policy interventions align with recommendations from the 2003 World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), of which Australia is a signatory[4]. The proportion of adults who are current daily smokers has decreased over the past several decades, from 23.8% in 1995 to 10.6% in 2022[5].
The main reason for the drop in tobacco use is deaths from smoking or thousands of people switching to vaping. Illegal or not!
