A DROP in teenage smoking rates gives hope for a healthier next generation, Warrnambool’s lead drug and alcohol treatment agency says.
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The Australian Secondary Students' Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey, which has been conducted every three years since 1984, has revealed smoking rates are the lowest in the research study’s history.
The comprehensive national study showed only three per cent of the surveyed 81,000 secondary school students had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, with a peak of 10 per cent among 17-year-old males.
Five per cent of students aged 12 to 17 had smoked in the past week, compared with seven per cent in 2011 and 2008 studies.
Western Region Alcohol and Drug Centre (WRAD) director Geoff Soma said raising cigarette prices had definitely had an impact with young people, but it was hard to determine a direct link for the trend.
“There's been a long-term investment by places like VicHealth in promoting smoke-free environments and linking smoking to other health-related issues,” he said.
“That may have had an impact in increasing the view that it’s less attractive to smoke and we might be starting to see that filter through the system.
“It would be really difficult to identify any one thing.
“You'll find it’s a long-term investment made with strategies on a number of different levels involving a number of different government departments.
“Cost was an issue when they were talking about the mixed drinks and the difference with that is they had a choice and could shift to wine and other drinks.”
Cancer Council Victoria chief executive officer Todd Harper said the decline in adolescent smoking rates had occurred during a period of significant activity in the tobacco control landscape.
“Past research has shown that cigarette price increases via rises in taxes on these products, ongoing mass media campaigns and increasing smoke-free areas are effective strategies for reducing tobacco use among adolescents,” he said.
“We are only now beginning to understand the significance of the change to cigarette packaging, but peer-reviewed published research shows this was associated with a reduction in perceived attractiveness and appeal of cigarette packs to adolescents.”
