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Report of the
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Health-related behaviours
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Report of the
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Health-related behaviours
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| Note: | Current smokers (smoke daily or occasionally) were asked: 'Which of the following best describes how you feel about your smoking?' Options ranged from not planning on quitting in the next six months, through planning on quitting in the next month or 6 months, to not having smoked in the last 24 hours or 6 months (2002 and 2003 only). Estimates are based on 4,272 respondents in 1998 with 131(3.1%) 'not stated' (Don't know or Refused), 2,486 in 2002 with 90 (3.49%) 'not stated' and 2,587 in 2003 with 99(3.69%) 'not stated'. |
| Source: | NSW Population Health Survey (HOIST). Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health. |
Smoking cessation, or quitting, has immediate and important health benefits for individuals of all ages. Ex-smokers have improved life expectancy and reduced risk of smoking-related disease, compared to continuing smokers (Fiore et al., 2000). Dependence on tobacco-delivered nicotine can be characterised as a chronic relapsing disorder. Without assistance, around 95% of quitters will fail on any single attempt and most people make several attempts before they are successful. At least 70% of Australian smokers are believed to be dependent on tobacco-delivered nicotine (Commonwealth of Australia, 2005).
In the NSW Population Health Survey, respondents who are current smokers are asked a question about their intention to quit smoking. The proportion of males not planning to quit in the next six months declined significantly by almost 8% from 46.5% in 1998 to 38.4% in 2005. For females, there was also a decline in the proportion not planning to quit from 45.4% in 1998 to 41.5% in 2005, however this was not a significant decline. There was an increase in respondents planning to quit in the next six months from 35.0% in 1998 to 39.8% in 2005, however this increase was not significant.
The correct use of nicotine replacement therapies, such as gum, lozenge, patch, sublingual tablet or inhaler, doubles the chance of successfully quitting smoking (Silagy et al.,2001). The Quitline (13 7848) provides expert smoking cessation advice and quitting smokers can enrol in the free callback service, where an advisor will provide ongoing support throughout the quit attempt. The Quitline is accessible for the cost of a local call throughout NSW. A fax referral system is in place for all health services in NSW to refer clients who want to quit smoking to the NSW Quitline.
NSW Health has published a guide to brief intervention for health professionals, titled 'Let's take a moment'. The document outlines clear and practical advice in the provision of smoking cessation interventions for health professionals, based on evidence for best practice (NSW Health website).
| For more information: |
Fiore MC, Baily WC, Cohen SJ, et al. Treating tobacco use and dependence. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville MD: US Department of Health and Human Service, 2000. Commonwealth of Australia. National Tobacco Strategy 2004-2009. Canberra: Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, 2005. Silagy C, Lancaster T, Stead L, Mant D, Fowler G. Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation.The Cochrane Library, Issue 3. Oxford: Update Software, 2001. NSW Health website at www.health.nsw.gov.au. |
| Print version: | Although this page can be printed directly from your Web browser, a higher quality version of this entire page (graph, table and text) is available as an Acrobat PDF file which can be printed or viewed on screen using free software. |
| Downloadable files: | The data contained in the table on this page are available for download as a CSV file which can be imported into many software packages. The graph is available for download as an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file and as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile Format) file. Files in these formats can be imported into most word processing, presentation and graphics software packages. |
| Copyright notice: | This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited. |
| Suggested citation: | Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales - Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/beh/beh_smoquit_year.htm. Accessed (insert date of access). |
| Produced by: | Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health. |
| Last updated on: | 20 November 2006 |
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