Tobacco Control

Tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and disease in Australia.

Between 2003 and 2007, an average of 471 Tasmanians died each year due to tobacco use.

Tasmania has traditionally had a higher rate of tobacco smoking than most of the other jurisdictions, and Australia as a whole, with the exception of the Northern Territory.

The Australian Health Survey 2011-12 reported statistically significant lower daily adult smoking rates for all jurisdictions except for Tasmania and the Northern Territory. In Tasmania, 23.2 per cent of adults (18+) were estimated to be either daily or occasional smokers, compared to 16.3 per cent nationally.

Smoking prevalence is especially high among young Tasmanians, with 30.6 per cent of young Tasmanians aged 20-24 being current smokers, compared to 19.5 per cent nationally.

Traditionally, more males than females smoke and the Australian Health Survey results for 2011-12 indicate this to be the case in Tasmania with 28 per cent of males (aged 18+) estimated to be current smokers compared to 18.6 per cent of Tasmanian females. This differential was particularly pronounced in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups with over 40 per cent of Tasmanian males in each of these groups estimated to be current smokers compared to less than 24 per cent females. The gender discrepancy was also apparent at the national level, but not to the same extent with around 25 per cent of males estimated to be current smokers compared to 22 per cent of females in these age groups.