Smoking in Australia Essay Sample

Introduction: The topic of this essay is smoking rates in Australia, and why this is a relevant public health problem. Smoking, while not a recent issue for debate, has continued to pose as a risk to public health, with many possible threats to the health of populations. This essay will address why smoking rates in Australia are a public health issue, who the most vulnerable populations are, major actors involved in addressing this issue, and what more can be done to ease the burden of smoking and improve the health of the population.

Context of this public health issue: Nicotine, one of the main chemicals found in cigarettes, is a highly addictive substance that contains toxins and cancer-causing chemicals that can lead to preventable diseases and death. Smoking can be done in the form of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or e-cigarettes, with cigarettes containing “more than 7,000 chemicals which are known to cause cancer” (Stand AZ, 2020). Smoking can affect individuals who smoke, as well as the population around them through second-hand smoking. The prolonged impact of smoking, even the residual effects of being around those who smoke can lead to lung cancer, respiratory diseases, multiple other cancers, reduced fertility, or a higher risk of developing dementia (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). While smoking rates have seen a reduction in prevalence in Australia in recent years, moving from 25% of adults reported daily smoking in 1991 to 11.6% in 2019 (National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2019), it still remains the “leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia” (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2021), deeming it a public health issue. Smoking alone was responsible for “8.6% of the total burden of disease in Australia in 2018” with it estimated to kill around 25,000 Australians yearly (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2022). Recently, the prevalence of young people taking up smoking in the form of vaping has increased, with an estimated 21.7% of people aged 18-24 reported vaping in 2020-2021 (ABS, 2022). Smoking is a costly and hazardous activity that can severely impact the health of populations and is a preventable practice that needs to be reduced.

Population groups most affected: In 2019, it was reported that smoking rates were highest among people living in low socioeconomic areas, people who were unemployed, people living in regional or remote areas, and those who completed Year 11 or below (AIHW, 2021). For those living in low socioeconomic areas, smoking was seen to be responsible for 11.7% of the total burden of disease, whereas high socioeconomic areas reported only 6.5% (AIHW, 2019). Multiple factors contribute to the prevalence of smoking being higher among low socioeconomic groups, including targeted marketing by the tobacco industry, easier access to cigarettes, limited services to aid in quitting, and positive norms towards smoking (Hiscock et al., 2012). Similarly, people living in regional or remote areas have reduced access to services to support in quitting smoking, leading to smoking rates in these areas continuing to be higher than major cities. This health inequity leads to smoking rates being higher amongst these vulnerable population groups and the detrimental consequences smoking has shown to have greater impacting these groups. It was found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were also drastically affected by smoking, with them being almost 3 times more likely to smoke compared to non-Indigenous Australians (Chamberlain, C et al, 2017). Without the proper resources to quit smoking, these health inequities will continue to greatly affect these vulnerable groups and the smoking rates in Australia remaining high.

Main players involved: In Australia, a key player involved in addressing smoking is the Australian Government Department of Health. This sector of the government aim to reduce smoking rates across Australia by making educational campaigns like the “Don’t make smokes your story” campaign, implementing taxes on tobacco to make them more inaccessible, and working on health warnings relating to smoking. They also provide resources to educate people on the effects of smoking and information on how to quit and implemented “Quitline” to assist in this. The resources the Australian Government Department of Health provide can influence this issue as they are assisting Australians to quit smoking, which will in turn reduce smoking rates across Australia and positively impact the population. Another main player in this issue 

 Health approaches to address this issue: While smoking rates have significantly decreased in recent years, many more strategies can be implemented to further reduce them and improve the health of the Australian population. Some preventative strategies that have already proven to be effective include taxes on tobacco products, laws regulating who can purchase tobacco products and implementing smoke-free areas (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2020). To build from this, increased taxes could be placed on cigarettes and related products to further deter people from purchasing them, stricter laws on who can purchase tobacco products can be introduced, like higher age restrictions, and more public places can implement smoke-free policies. By introducing more smoke-free places, like public parks, restaurants or bars, the detrimental impacts of smoking and second-hand smoking can be reduced, which will improve the health and wellbeing of the population. More can also be done to prevent smoking by targeting measures towards schools and communities, to discourage people from smoking early. Anti-smoking campaigns have been found to be effective in reducing tobacco use (Durkin et al, 2012), so continuing to focus these on the younger demographic as well as those who may be more susceptible to taking up smoking could be an effective strategy to address high smoking rates. As seen, tobacco companies have been shown to market their products to vulnerable population groups, including low socioeconomic areas and regional areas, leading to higher smoking rates found in these areas. If stricter laws were put in place by the government or other organisations responsible for looking after the health and wellbeing of the population onto tobacco companies, this targeted marketing towards groups most affected by smoking could be reduced, leading to the harmful effects smoking has also lessoning.

Conclusion: Smoking rates in Australia have been shown to adversely impact the health of the population in many facets. The continued advertising of tobacco products to vulnerable communities has led to many health inequities occurring and has had the implication of making reducing smoking rates more challenging. While key actors like the Australian Government Department of Health already taking action to reduce smoking rates, much more still needs to be done to reduce its adverse effects. If smoking rates remain at the what they are now, the future implications could include higher burden of disease across Australia and more preventable deaths resulting from smoking.