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 proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke has declined significantly In 2019, 43% of Australians had illicitly used a drug in their life and 16.4% had used one in the last 12 months. The non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs is an ongoing public health problem in Australia Australians are increasingly supportive of cannabis use and most support pill-testing. In 2019, 11.0% of Australians smoked tobacco daily, down from 12.2% in 2016 and 24% in 1991. People who inject drugs experience considerably poorer health outcomes than other drug users Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable health burden in Australia Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia People with mental health conditions are more likely to use tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of people who had ever used e-cigarettes rose from 8.8% to 11.3%. Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of ex-drinkers rose from 7.6% to 8.9%. Non-medical pharmaceutical use is down, driven by a fall in use of pain-killers. There is a strong link between problematic alcohol or other drug use and experiences of homelessness Smoking and drinking rates are down among gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Smoking rates increase with socioeconomic disadvantage, but illicit drug use highest in the most advantaged areas.

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Highlights

11%of people aged 14 and older smoked daily in 2019. This is down from 24% in 1991
People in their 40s and 50s were the most likely age group to smoke daily (16%) in 2019
9.6%of women smoked at some time during their pregnancy in 2018, down from 14.6% in 2009
16.6 yearswas the average age at which 14–24 year-olds smoked their first full cigarette in 2019 compared with 14.3 years in 2001
13%of closed treatment episodes provided by specialist alcohol and other drug agencies in 2019–20 involved nicotine as an additional drug of concern
Only 2.1%of households with dependent children reported smoking inside the home in 2019. This has steadily declined from 20% in 2001