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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-01 Daily Xml
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Smoking Rates

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (14:58): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister inform the house about what the government's plans are to curb the prevalence of smoking in South Australia?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:58): I thank the member for Waite and acknowledge her interest in the health care of South Australians and in preventative health. We do know that smoking is the leading cause of death/disability in Australia, responsible for 20,000 deaths annually and more than eight million deaths worldwide.

Yesterday was World No Tobacco Day, when we acknowledged the impact that tobacco has around the world and its impact upon people's health and impact upon the health system. It was also the last day of the Quit Your Way in May campaign, which was initiated by Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia encouraging South Australians to quit smoking.

I have recently been provided with the latest statistics in terms of the smoking rates in South Australia by the South Australian Health Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), and they do paint a disturbing picture in terms of where the trajectory has been going in terms of smoking.

We know that over a long period of time there has been a significant reduction in the smoking rates, from very high rates in the 1970s and 1980s down to relatively low levels today. However, the more recent data does paint some concern for us in government. For instance, the daily smoking prevalence for people aged 15 and over—the majority adults in South Australia—was 13.9 per cent in 2013. That then reduced to 8.6 per cent in 2018, but now it has gone a bit higher and is at 9.8 per cent in 2021. It is concerning to see that increase.

For 15 to 29 year olds, it was 15 per cent back in 2012. That went down to 4.5 per cent in 2018, but that has now unfortunately gone up to 9.7 percent in 2021. So there is a disturbing feature where we are seeing an increase in smoking rates over the past few years. It is even more concerning in terms of regional areas, where we have gone from an 11.6 per cent smoking rate in 2018 up to 15.5 per cent in 2021.

This is one of the reasons why, in the past election, this government committed to and will now be delivering on a partnership with Cancer Council SA called Tackling Tobacco. This program is going to work with not-for-profit groups, community groups and people who work with disadvantaged groups across South Australia to provide training for intervening in terms of tobacco, making sure that people have access to alternative patches and other nicotine replacement therapies, to make sure that we can encourage and connect people with services that can help them quit.

I think it has been a lacking service. It was an issue that was raised with us by the Cancer Council before the election, that we did not see services like this in place. I am very excited that we will be delivering that project to make a big difference. There is one area where I am particularly concerned that there is an increasing impact as well, and that is e-cigarettes, particularly amongst children and young people, where we see that there is an increasing impact.

To see the statistics that have come out in the last few days that 350 suspensions were issued for vaping at schools this year alone is deeply concerning. We see that, while not meant to contain nicotine, they do unfortunately often contain nicotine. The latest statistics show that amongst adolescents and young adults current e-cigarette use is highest among 18 to 24 year olds at 35 per cent compared with just 9.5 percent in 2013. This is a disturbing issue that we need to take action on.

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