Tobacco
NSW Health and tobacco control | NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005 - 2009 | The National Tobacco Strategy 2004 - 2009Tobacco smoking is the greatest single cause of premature death and is a leading preventable cause of morbidity in New South Wales.
In 2004, smoking caused 6,507 deaths and in 2004/05 was responsible for 55,591 hospitalisations in NSW. 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 and tobacco control
NSW Health is a major driving force in tobacco control in NSW, working on:
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tobacco policy development
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provision of cessation services and
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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 environmental tobacco smoke (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.
NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005 - 2009
The NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005- 2009 sets out the NSW Government's commitment to the prevention and reduction of tobacco-related harm in NSW. It builds on the achievements of previous Tobacco Action Plans and addresses current and future challenges in tobacco control.
The NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005 - 2009 is presented in two parts:
The goal of the Plan is to improve the health of the people of NSW and eliminate or reduce their exposure to tobacco in all its forms.
The National Tobacco Strategy 2004 - 2009
The National Tobacco Strategy 2004 - 2009 is a statement from the federal, state and territory governments to improve health and reduce 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.
- obtain the information we need to fine-tune our policies and programs.
