Tobacco
NSW Health and tobacco control | NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012 - 2017 | Previous Tobacco StrategiesNSW Health and tobacco control
Tobacco smoking is the greatest single cause of premature death and is a leading preventable cause of morbidity in New South Wales.
The 2010 Report of the Chief Health Officer found that smoking causes more than 5,200 deaths and just over 44,000 hospitalisations in NSW per year. These hospitalisations were mainly due to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ischaemic heart disease.
Non-smokers can also be adversely affected by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). In children, breathing ETS can lead to bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and other illnesses. In adults, breathing ETS can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and other lung diseases. This is in addition to the "irritant" effects of ETS on the eyes, nose, throat and airway passages that arise from the presence of irritant chemicals in tobacco smoke.
NSW Health is a major driving force in tobacco control in NSW, working on:
- tobacco policy development
- provision of cessation services and
- enforcement of legislation.
NSW Health is committed to reducing tobacco-related harm in NSW and will continue to work closely with key partners at the State and Commonwealth level, in local government and with non-government organisations.
The last 25 years of tobacco control activity has resulted in dramatic reductions in the number of people who smoke tobacco products and the number of people who are exposed to ETS.
The substantial decline in smoking rates within the NSW population over this period can be attributed to social marketing programs such as the NSW Quit Campaign and the introduction of strong policy and legislative reforms. The reforms in the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008 further strengthen tobacco control efforts in NSW.
NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012 - 2017
The NSW Tobacco Strategy 2012 - 2017 sets out the actions that NSW Health will lead to reduce tobacco related harm in NSW.
The Strategy includes:
- A focus on addressing tobacco smoking in populations with high smoking rates, particularly Aboriginal communities, women smoking in pregnancy, mental health consumers and people in corrections facilities;
- Enhanced programs to help smokers quit; and
- Measures to protect people from harmful second-hand smoke in outdoor areas.
The Strategy was informed by a public consultation on the Strategic Directions on Tobacco Control in NSW 2011 – 20 16 Discussion Paper.
Previous Tobacco Strategies
NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005 - 2009
The NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005 - 2009 consisted of two parts:
The National Tobacco Strategy 2004 - 2009 is a statement from the federal, state and territory governments to improve health and reduce the social cost caused by tobacco.
The National Tobacco Strategy is a comprehensive approach to reducing tobacco-related harm. Jurisdictions will:
- further use regulation to reduce the use of, exposure to, and the harm associated with tobacco;
- increase promotion of Quit and Smokefree messages;
- improve the quality of, and access to, services and treatments for smokers;
- provide more useful support to parents, carers and educators helping children to develop a healthy lifestyle;
- endorse policies that prevent social alienation associated with uptake of high risk behaviours such as smoking, and advocate policies that reduce smoking as a means of addressing disadvantage;
- tailor messages and services to ensure access by disadvantaged groups; and
- obtain the information we need to fine-tune our policies and programs.
The National Tobacco Strategy 2004-2009 has expired and has been evaluated. Following consideration of the findings of the evaluation, a new strategy will be developed and is expected to be implemented in early 2011.
