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

1 in 5 meth/amphetamine users used the drug weekly or more often in 2016 The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke has declined significantly Homosexual/bisexual people were 5.8 times as likely as heterosexual people to use ecstasy and meth/amphetamines Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia The non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs is an increasing public health problem in Australia There is a strong link between problematic alcohol or other drug use and experiences of homelessness Support for legalisation of cannabis and use of it in clinical trials to treat medical conditions increased in 2016 Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable burden in Australia Among current smokers, 3 in 10 tried to quit but did not succeed and about 1 in 3 do not intend to quit People who inject drugs experience considerably poorer health outcomes than other drug users In 2016, recent use of cannabis was highest in NT, meth/amphetamine use was highest in WA, cocaine was highest in NSW Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially 10% of drinkers drove a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in 2016 but this declined from 12% in 2013 Self-reported levels of psychological distress are increasing among recent users of tobacco and illicit drugs In 2016, about 1 in 8 Australians smoked daily while 6 in 10 had never smoked 4 in 10 people either smoked daily, drank alcohol in risky quantities or used an illicit drug in the past 12 months

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Highlights

12%of people aged 14 and older smoked daily in 2016. This is down from 24% in 1991
People in their 40swere the most likely age group to smoke daily (17%) in 2016
9.6%of women smoked at some time during their pregnancy in 2018, down from 14.6% in 2009
16.3 yearswas the average age at which 14–24 year-olds smoked their first full cigarette in 2016 compared with 14.2 years in 2010
36,000treatment episodes provided by specialist alcohol and other drug agencies in 2018–19 involved nicotine for principal and additional drug of concern
Only 2.8%of adults in households with dependent children reported smoking inside the home in 2016. This has steadily declined from 31% in 1995