23 November 2005

How low can we go with smoking rates? More smoke-free public areas on the horizon

More than 350 experts in tobacco control will meet in Sydney today to strengthen the global anti-smoking effort and decide on the next wave of tobacco control.

“Public perception of smoking has really changed in the last fifty years and smoking is no longer the norm, with only 18.6% of men and 16.3% of women in Australia smoking daily,” said Dr John Sanders, Manager Tobacco and Health, NSW Health.

However, Dr Sanders advised there is a lot more work to be done.

“We still have a very high prevalence of tobacco use among specific members of the community such as Aboriginal groups, people from non-English speaking backgrounds and lower socio-economic groups. Our activities in the future need to target these groups,” said Dr Sanders.

Dr Penman, CEO of The Cancer Council NSW, said their next focus will be on pushing for better regulation to limit the availability of tobacco, lobbying for more smoke-free public places and looking into the possibility of a nicotine maintenance program for addicted smokers.

“We need to reconsider how we use nicotine replacement therapy and whether there’s a benefit in introducing a way for addicted smokers to get their nicotine hit without the other poisons – similar to the methadone program,” said Dr Penman.

Professor Jim Bishop, CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW and Chief Cancer Officer of the state, said the use of creative and graphic marketing campaigns will continue to be a major focus.

“In 2006 our ads will remind people of the risks of smoking and offer practical help to quit,” said Professor Bishop.

“We know these campaigns work. One of our most recent quit ads scored a 85% recall by NSW smokers and calls to the Quitline were the highest on record.

“This conference will give us the opportunity to learn what tactics have worked in other countries so we can get a bigger bang for our buck in Australia and further reduce the number of people suffering from tobacco-related diseases,” said Professor Bishop.

The Visions of the Future national tobacco control conference is co-hosted by NSW Health, The Cancer Council NSW and the Cancer Institute NSW is on until Friday.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au