May 31, 2017
Figures released on World No Tobacco Day show that Kingaroy and Nanango have one of the highest smoking rates in Queensland.
According to statistics analysed by researchers at the Victoria University in Melbourne, 28.3 per cent of the population in the Kingaroy Region – North and Nanango were current smokers.
The highest rate, 28.8 per cent, was recorded in the Inala, Richlands and Wacol region.
This compares with just 7.9 per cent in the Chapel Hill, Figtree Pocket and Kenmore areas and 8.1 per cent in the Kenmore, Brookfield and Moggill West areas.
Across Australia, 2.8 million Australians still smoke despite smoking being recognised as a high risk for premature death
Research shows that two-thirds of people who continue to smoke are likely to die because of their smoking.
Health Policy Director Rosemary Calder said there were low rates of smoking in the “leafier” neighbourhoods of Australia, such as 6.6 per cent in the affluent North Shore Sydney suburb of Gordon.
But in some low socio-economic communities more than 30 per cent of people still smoke, such as Mt Druitt and Tamworth (NSW), Risdon Vale and Bridgewater (Tasmania) and Elizabeth (South Australia).
“Many Australians have quit and stayed quit – we are a world leader in this area of health,” she said.
“But in some Australian towns 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 adults still smoke, placing them at risk of chronic disease and premature mortality.
“By 2025 we want to drive the numbers down to 5 per cent or less of the population smoking. We have a road map to get Australia to this target.”
Prof Mike Daube said this was Australia’s most preventable epidemic.
“We know exactly what needs to be done, but the tobacco industry has developed new strategies to keep people smoking, and governments are getting complacent,” he said.
“It is especially disappointing that there has been no national tobacco media campaign for several years, although this year the government expects to get more than $11 billion in tobacco tax revenue. Prevention should be a priority, not an afterthought.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, smoking rates in Australia have dropped by nearly 10 per cent over the past two decades.
“Just over one in seven (14.5 per cent) adults were smokers in 2014-15 compared with nearly one in four (23.8 per cent) in 1995,” ABS Director Of Health Louise Gates said.
“In particular, rates of daily smoking have decreased considerably among younger adults (18-44 year olds).
“In 2014-15, 16.3 per cent of 18-44 year olds smoked daily compared with 28.2 per cent in 2001. This drop is due to people quitting and people not starting to smoke.
“In 2014-15, 60 per cent of younger adults (18-44 years) had never smoked and 23 per cent were ex-smokers.”
However, there are still variations in smoking rates across the country.
The Northern Territory continues to have the highest smoking rate at over one in five (21 per cent) adults smoking daily in 2014-15, but this has dropped since 2001 where 30 per cent were daily smokers.
In 2014-15, people living in Outer Regional and Remote areas of Australia had higher rates of daily smoking (20.9 per cent) than people in Inner Regional areas (16.7 per cent) or Major Cities (13.0 per cent).
Men have been consistently more likely to smoke tobacco daily than women.
In 2014-15, 16.9 per cent of males and 12.1 per cent of women smoked daily, with a similar but higher pattern in 1995 (27.3 per cent of men compared with 20.3 per cent of women).
