Tobacco Use in Tasmania

There is evidence that Tasmanian smoking rates have increased despite decreases in national trends. Data on smoking rates is available from a number of sources. The most comprehensive data is sourced from studies conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) conducts a National Drug Strategy Household Survey providing national data but the sample size for each jurisdiction is smaller than that used in ABS surveys. Accordingly, AIHW figures provide some indication of trends in smoking rates but are not considered to be conclusive of changes in the rate of smoking in Tasmania.

In 2007, ABS National Health Survey data recorded the Tasmanian smoking rate of those aged 18+ at 24.9%. This includes both daily or regular smokers and occasional smokers. In comparison, the previous ABS National Health Survey in 2004 found the smoking rate of those aged 18+ to be 25.4%. The 2007 survey also found the highest proportion of current smokers to be in the 18 to 24 age group at 37.3%. And, according to the survey results, smoking rates of males is 25.1% and females 22.8%.

However, the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey report shows some positive and significant reductions in Tasmanian daily smoking rates of those aged 14+ from 22.6% in 2007 to 15.9% in 2010.

In 2008, the Tasmanian component of the Australian Secondary Schools Alcohol and Drug Survey found 9% of students aged between 12 and 17 years to be current smokers, a decrease from the 11% found in a previous survey conducted in 2005. This is encouraging, but it is still important that efforts are maintained to prevent the children of today from becoming the next generation of addicted adult smokers.

Alarmingly, in 2009, 23.9% of pregnant women in Tasmania smoked during pregnancy, down by 3% from the previous year. The high rates of smoking amongst younger women of child bearing age is a major concern, not only for their own health and wellbeing, but also the impact on fertility rates and on babies and small children exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.

Smoking prevalence amongst Tasmanian Aborigines is consistently higher than amongst the overall Tasmanian population. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) 2008 results showed 44.5% of Tasmanian Aborigines aged 15 years or older were current smokers. This suggests a decline in smoking prevalence from the 2004/5 NATSIHS level of 50%.