Overview

Tobacco smoking is the single most important preventable cause of ill health and death in Australia. Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals, of which over 70 cause cancer.

More reports and statistics on tobacco smoking can be found under Alcohol, Alcohol & other drug treatment services and Illicit use of drugs.

Latest findings

10% of drinkers drove a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in 2016 but this declined from 12% in 2013 The non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs is an increasing public health problem in Australia 1 in 5 meth/amphetamine users used the drug weekly or more often in 2016 The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke has declined significantly 4 in 10 people either smoked daily, drank alcohol in risky quantities or used an illicit drug in the past 12 months Homosexual/bisexual people were 5.8 times as likely as heterosexual people to use ecstasy and meth/amphetamines In 2016, recent use of cannabis was highest in NT, meth/amphetamine use was highest in WA, cocaine was highest in NSW In 2016, about 1 in 8 Australians smoked daily while 6 in 10 had never smoked Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia Support for legalisation of cannabis and use of it in clinical trials to treat medical conditions increased in 2016 People who inject drugs experience considerably poorer health outcomes than other drug users Self-reported levels of psychological distress are increasing among recent users of tobacco and illicit drugs There is a strong link between problematic alcohol or other drug use and experiences of homelessness Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable burden in Australia Among current smokers, 3 in 10 tried to quit but did not succeed and about 1 in 3 do not intend to quit Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially

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Highlights

12%of people aged 14 and older smoked daily in 2016. This is down from 24% in 1991
People in their 40swere the most like age group to smoke daily (17%) in 2016
10%of women smoked at some time during their pregnancy in 2017, down from 15% in 2009
16.3 yearswas the average age at which 14–24 year-olds smoked their first full cigarette in 2016 compared with 14.2 years in 2010
34,800treatment episodes provided by specialist alcohol and other drug agencies in 2017-18 involved nicotine as a drug of concern
Only 2.8%of adults in households with dependent children reported smoking inside the home in 2016. This has steadily declined from 31% in 1995