Smoking (PI09 and PI10)

Indicators related to smoking in the national Key Performance Indicators (nKPI) collection are:

  • smoking status recorded (PI09): the proportion of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over whose smoking status was recorded within the previous 24 months
  • smoking status result (PI10): the proportion of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over whose smoking status recorded within the previous 24 months was current smoker, ex-smoker or never smoked.

PI09 and PI10 are collected for males and females in age groups:

  • 11–14
  • 15–24
  • 25–34
  • 35–44
  • 45–54
  • 55–64
  • 65 and over.

There have been changes to the specifications of these indicators over time. See Technical notes for more information.

An indicator related to smoking during pregnancy is also collected, with data presented under the Maternal and child health domain.

Why not smoking is important

Tobacco smoking is the smoking of tobacco products, including packet cigarettes, roll-your-own cigarettes, cigars or pipes.

It is an important cause of preventable ill health and death in Australia and is a leading risk factor for the development of many chronic health conditions and premature death. Health conditions often affected by tobacco smoking include many types of cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease.

The proportion of Indigenous adults who smoke has decreased over time. Indigenous adults, however, are more likely to smoke than non-Indigenous adults (AIHW 2022).

Smoking status recorded (PI09)

At June 2022, 70% (or around 207,000) of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over had their smoking status recorded within the previous 24 months.

Smoking status recorded, by reporting period

This Tableau visualisation shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over who had their smoking status recorded in the last 2 years, by reporting period. There are two tabs with different time periods:

  • June 2021 to June 2022
  • June 2017 to December 2020.

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

Recording of smoking status was highest in:

  • New South Wales/the Australian Capital Territory (combined) (75%)
  • Outer regional areas (78%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (75%).

Smoking status recorded, by either state/territory, remoteness or organisation type, reporting period

Two Tableau visualisations are presented here. The first shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over who had their smoking status recorded in the last 2 years for either:

  • state/territory (NSW/ACT, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, NT, Australia)
  • remoteness area (Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote, Very remote, Australia)
  • organisation type (ACCHO, non-ACCHO, Total).

Reporting periods of either June 2017, December 2017, June 2018, December 2018, June 2019, December 2019, June 2020, December 2020, June 2021, December 2021, or June 2022 can be selected.

The second visualisation shows the selected information from the first visualisation by sex (male, female) and age group (11–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65+).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Archived content.

Smoking status result (PI10)

At June 2022, 47% (or around 99,000) of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over were current smokers, 38% (78,400) had never smoked and 15% (31,000) were ex-smokers.
 

This Tableau visualisation shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over who had their smoking status recorded in the last 2 years by smoking status result (select for current smoker, ex-smoker, or never smoked) and reporting period. There are two tabs with different time periods:

  • June 2021 to June 2022
  • June 2017 to December 2020.

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Data.

Having never smoked or being an ex-smoker (53%) was highest in:

  • New South Wales/the Australian Capital Territory (combined) and Queensland (both 56%)
  • Major cities (57%)
  • Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) (53%).

Smoking status result, by smoking status and either state/territory, remoteness or organisation type, reporting period

Two Tableau visualisations are presented here. The first shows the percentage of Indigenous regular clients aged 11 and over who had their smoking status recorded in the last 2 years by smoking status result (select for current smoker, ex-smoker, or never smoked) for either:

  • state/territory (NSW/ACT, Vic, Qld, WA, SA, Tas, NT, Australia)
  • remoteness area (Major cities, Inner regional, Outer regional, Remote, Very remote, Australia)
  • organisation type (ACCHO, non-ACCHO, Total).

Reporting periods of either June 2017, December 2017, June 2018, December 2018, June 2019, December 2019, June 2020, December 2020, June 2021, December 2021, or June 2022 can be selected.

The second visualisation shows the selected information from the first visualisation by sex (male, female) and age group (11–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65+).

Data supporting this visualisation are available in Excel supplementary data tables at Archived content.

Reference

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2022) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework: tobacco use, Canberra: AIHW.