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

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

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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
11%of women who gave birth smoked during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy in 2014, down from 13% in 2011
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
37,300treatment episodes provided by specialist alcohol and other drug agencies in 2014–15 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