Call to action on tobacco

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of sickness and premature death in Australia. Smoking kills over 19,000 Australians a year, more than half in middle age. 

This includes 7,200 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6,600 from cancer. It is conservatively estimated that smoking costs the nation at least $21.1 billion in health care and other direct and indirect costs (1999). Both Australian and international evidence shows that well funded, comprehensive tobacco control programs can successfully reduce tobacco use.

Tobacco control is one of the best investments governments can make to enhance health and economic wellbeing.

Tobacco Control – a blue chip investment in public health, 2001

This report is a practical agenda prepared for governments, and endorsed by leading health groups in Australia, on how to reduce the social costs of smoking. It proposes several cost effective programs and policies including:

Programs

• Provide commercially realistic funding for public education

• Fund a comprehensive, evidence based tobacco dependence treatment program

• Ongoing research and evaluation
  

Policies

• Ensure cigarettes do not become affordable to children

• Ensure complete and effective disclosure by tobacco companies to consumers

• Regulate the manufacture and supply of tobacco products to minimise social harm

• Reduce involuntary exposure to toxic tobacco by-products

• Support broader social policies likely to reduce demand for tobacco

• Use financial levers to re-orient the health care system towards greater investment in prevention – more rational resource allocation.

Page last updated on 16/9/05