Daily smokers fall to 12.8 percent in South Australia

The South Australian Health Omnibus Survey of 2,700 people has found that 15.7 percent of respondents identified themselves as smokers during 2014, down from 19.4 percent during 2013, according to a story in the Adelaide Advertiser relayed by the TMA.

Last year, the smoking prevalence among men stood at 18.6 percent while that among women stood at 12.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the proportion of daily smokers decreased from 16.2 percent during 2013 to 12.8 percent last year.

And smoking prevalence among people aged 15-29 declined from 19.5 percent to 14.8 percent.

University of Adelaide Associate Professor John Glover said that almost all smokers started smoking before the age of 18; so it was a good sign that more teens were avoiding the habit.

And Cancer Council SA chief executive Professor Brenda Wilson said that targets set by the state government as part of South Australia’s Tobacco Control Strategy, which were introduced during 2011, were clearly working.

“[One of its aims] was to reduce smoking rates in young people to below 16 percent by 2016,” she said.

But while welcoming the results of the survey, Wilson warned South Australians against “becoming complacent in the fight against smoking and the damage it causes”.