Smoking prevalence - adults | National Cancer Control Indicators

Published

22 Nov, 2017

Tobacco use is the single largest cause of cancer globally and the predominant cause of lung cancer.¹ The risk of developing lung cancer due to tobacco smoking increases with the duration of smoking and the numbers of cigarettes smoked per day.²

Summary

Smoking prevalence in Australia is decreasingFrom 2001 to 2014-15, the proportion of adults smoking daily decreased from 22.4% to 14.5%.

Smoking prevalence is higher among Indigenous personsIn 2014-15, 40.6% of Indigenous adults smoked daily, compared with 14.5% of non-Indigenous adults (age-standardised data).

Smoking prevalence is higher for persons living in regional and remote Australia, and in lower socioeconomic status areasIn 2014-15, more than 20% of adults living in Outer Regional and Remote areas smoked daily, compared to only 13% of adults living in Major Cities. In the same period, more than 20% of adults in the lowest socioeconomic status areas (SES1) were daily smokers compared to less than 10% of adults living in the highest socioeconomic status areas (SES 5).

Australia has one of the lowest smoking prevalence rates in the worldCompared with selected developed countries, Australia had the lowest proportion of persons aged 15+ years who were daily smokers (12.8%).

Data

Charts

Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year
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Not smoking / Daily smoking

Notes

• Data sourced from ABS National Health Surveys from 1989-90 to 2014-15.
• Data for not smoking is the sum of adults reported as either ex-smokers or having never smoked (see 'About the data').
• Error bars indicate 95% margin of error.
• Rates are not age-standardised.

Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year
Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year and age
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Persons / Males / Females
Not smoking / Daily smoking

Notes

• Data sourced from ABS National Health Surveys from 2001 to 2014-15.
• Data for not smoking is the sum of adults reported as either ex-smokers or having never smoked (see 'About the data').
• Daily smoking data were not available for the 65-74 and 75+ age groups for 2004-05 and 2007-08.
• Error bars indicate 95% margin of error.

Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year and age
Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by Indigenous status and sex
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Persons / Males / Females

Notes

• Data sourced from ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey and Social Survey data.
• Rates are age-standardised.
• Error bars indicate 95% margin of error.

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by Indigenous status
Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by remoteness
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Year

Notes

• Data sourced from ABS National Health Surveys 2001 to 2014-15.
• Remoteness was classified according to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Remoteness Areas, July 2011.
• Adult daily smoking data by remoteness category are not available for 2007-08.
• Rates are not age-standardised.
• Error bars indicate 95% margin of error.

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by remoteness-
Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by socioeconomic status (SES)
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Year

Notes

• Data sourced from ABS National Health Surveys 2004-05 to 2014-15.
• SES data only available for SES 1 and SES 5 quintiles in 2004-05. [SES data not available for adults in 2007-08.]
• Rates are not age-standardised.
• Error bars indicate 95% margin of error.

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by socioeconomic status (SES)
Proportion of population aged 15 years and over who are daily smokers (most recent year)
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Notes

• Data sourced from OECD.Stat Health Statistics website.
• Rates are not age-standardised.
• International comparability is limited due to the lack of standardisation in the measurement of smoking habits in health interview surveys across OECD countries. There is variation in the wording of the question, the response categories and the related administrative methods.

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About this measure

About 90% (Australian men) and 65% (Australian women) of lung cancers are attributable to tobacco smoking.³It is projected that in Australia in 2017, 7,094 males and 5,340 females will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and that it will be the most common cause of cancer death.⁴ Tobacco smoking also causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, nasal cavity and accessory sinuses, larynx, oesophagus, stomach, pancreas, colon and rectum, liver, kidney, ureter, bladder, cervix and ovary, and myeloid leukaemia.¹An association between tobacco smoking and female breast cancer has also been reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and this finding is supported by a recent meta-analysis of nearly 32,000 breast cancer cases.⁵

The data in this measure show proportions of adult Australians aged 18 years or over indicating that they did not smoke, and those reporting smoking on a daily basis.

Current status

In 2014-15, 84.0% of persons (81.1% of males and 86.7% of females) aged 18 years and over reported that they did not smoke, whilst 14.5% (16.9% of males and 12.1% of females) reported smoking on a daily basis.⁶Smoking prevalence was similar across the age groups from 18 to 64 years of age, and lower among those aged 65 years and over.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Smoking prevalence is higher among Australia’s Indigenous population. In 2014-15, the age-standardised proportion of daily smokers was 40.6% for Indigenous Australians and 14.5% for the non-Indigenous population.⁷

Remoteness and socioeconomic status (SES)

In 2014-15, the proportions of daily smokers were highest among Australians living in Outer Regional and Remote areas, and among Australians living in areas of higher socioeconomic disadvantage (lower socioeconomic status, SES).

International comparisons

International data are available for daily smokers aged 15 years or more. The proportion of Australians who were daily smokers was 12%, which was comparable to the USA (11%) and Canada (14%) figures.⁸

Trends

The prevalence of smoking among adult Australians has decreased over the past two-and-a-half decades. From 1989-90 to 2014-15, the proportion of persons reporting that they did not smoke increased from 71.6% to 84.0% (from 67.9% to 81.1% among males, and from 75.3% to 86.7% among females).^6,9-14 Daily smoking rates were first reported in 2001; the proportion of persons reporting that they smoked daily decreased from 22.4% in 2001 to 14.5% in 2014-15 (from 25.4% to 16.9% among males, and from 19.5% to 12.1% among females).^6,11-14

Age groups

For those years where data were available for all age groups (2001 to 2014-15), larger increases in persons reporting that they did not smoke were observed in the 18-24, 25-34 and 35-44 years age groups than in 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 and 75+ years age groups. Similarly, larger decreases in proportions of persons smoking daily were observed for males and females aged under 45 years.^6,11-14

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The age-standardised proportion of Indigenous persons who were daily smokers decreased from 51.0% in 2001 to 40.6% in 2014-15. For the non-Indigenous population, the age-standardised proportions who were daily smokers were 22.4% in 2001 and 14.5% in 2014-15.^7,15

Remoteness and Socioeconomic status (SES)

From 2001 to 2014-15, decreases in daily smoking were seen across all remoteness area groupings; the largest decreases were among Australians living in Major Cities. For daily smoking rates by socioeconomic status, data were available from 2004-05 for the lowest and highest quintiles. From 2004-05 to 2014-15, there was a greater reduction in daily smoking rates among Australians living in areas of greatest socioeconomic disadvantage than among those living in the least disadvantaged areas.^6,11-14

Tobacco control in Australia

The reduction in prevalence of adult smoking in Australia from 1989-90 to 2014-15 appears to have occurred mostly in age groups under 45 years old. Cigarette smoking often becomes established in adolescence. Young people who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to develop long-term nicotine addiction.¹⁶ The reduction in smoking prevalence in age groups less than 45 years old may reflect reductions in teenage smoking prevalence over the last 15-20 years (see NCCI measure Smoking prevalence - Adolescents). The establishment of the first National Tobacco Campaign in 1997 likely contributed to the decline in smoking prevalence,^17,18 and this was complemented by promotion of other tobacco control initiatives at the Commonwealth and state and territory level. This includes: graphic health warnings on cigarette packs, tobacco excise increases and the introduction of plain packaging.¹⁸

Tobacco smoking remains a major public health problem in Australia and internationally. The decrease in smoking prevalence from 1989-90 to 2014-15, and the observation that daily smoking rates in Australia are broadly similar to the lowest rates for other countries, points to positive effects of Australian public health initiatives in this field.

About the data

Smoking prevalence has been measured in terms of the proportion of the population aged 18 years and older reporting not smoking, and the proportion of the population aged 18 years and older reporting daily smoking. The proportion of persons not smoking is the sum of persons who are ex-smokers, and persons who have never smoked.

For International data daily smoking is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 years old or over who report that they are daily smokers.

Data for adults aged 18+ is sourced from the National Health Survey, a series of Australia-wide health surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Indigenous data was sourced from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Surveys, and Social Surveys, also conducted by the ABS.

SES quintiles are developed from the 2011 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage. Attributes summarised by this index include low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment and jobs in relatively unskilled occupations. SES 1 is the most disadvantaged group.

Data sources:

ABS National Health Surveys – 1989-90, 1995, 2001, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2014-15.
ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Surveys – 2001, 2004-05, 2012-13, 2014-15.
OECD.Stat. Health Statistics (database). Non-medical determinants of health. OECD; 2016. http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT#

Definitions:

Daily smoker was defined as smoking one or more cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day.

Ex-smoker is defined as not currently smoking, but had regularly smoked daily, or had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, or smoked pipes, cigars etc. at least 20 times. Note: from 1989-90 to 2001, an Ex-smoker was defined as not currently smoking but had been a regular (i.e. daily) smoker in the past.

Never smoked is defined as having never regularly smoked, and smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and had smoked pipes, cigars, etc. less than 20 times. Note: from 1989-90 to 2001, Never smoking was defined as having never smoked regularly (i.e. daily).

Data caveats:

Definitions of Ex-smokers and Never smoked changed after 2001. The effect of these changes increased the number of ‘ex-smokers’ and decrease the number in the ‘never smoked’ category, but did not affect the overall number classed as ‘no smoking’.
International comparability is limited due to the lack of standardisation in the measurement of smoking habits in health interview surveys across OECD countries. There is variation in the wording of the question, the response categories and the related administrative methods.
The most recent year for international data varies between 2009 and 2016. Countries and years of most recent data are as follows:

Country	Data year
Australia	2016
Canada	2014
Chile	2009
Germany	2013
Ireland	2016
Japan	2015
Korea	2015
New Zealand	2016
United Kingdom	2014
United States	2015

References

Activity in this area

Data:

National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2016. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017. Canberra AIHW. Available at: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/ndshs-2016-key-findings/contents/summary

Social Health Atlases of Australia: Population Health areas – Health risk factors, data; [Accessed October 2017]; Available at: http://phidu.torrens.edu.au/current/maps/sha-aust/pha-single-map/atlas.html

Policy:

National Tobacco Campaign. http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/home

National Tobacco Strategy 2012-2018. Australian Government Department of Health. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/tobacco-st...

References

1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Personal Habits and Indoor Combustions. Volume 100E. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Lyon: IARC, 2012.

2. Stewart BW, Wild CP editors. World cancer report. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer, WHO; 2014.

3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & Cancer Australia. Lung cancer in Australia: an overview. Cancer series no. 64. Cat. no. CAN 58. Canberra: AIHW, 2011.

4. Lung Cancer statistics. Cancer Australia 2017. Accessed September 2017; https://lung-cancer.canceraustralia.gov.au/statistics

5. Cancer Australia. Position Statement: Lifestyle risk factors and the primary prevention of cancer. Surry Hills, NSW: Cancer Australia; 2015

6. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: First Results 2014-15. Cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS; 2015.

7. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2014-15. Cat. no. 4714.0. Canberra: ABS; 2016.

8. OECD.Stat. Accessed September 2017; http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT#

9. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: Lifestyle and Health 1989-90. Cat. no. 4366.0. Canberra: ABS; 1994.

10. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: Summary of Results 1995. Cat. no. 4364.0. Canberra: ABS; 1997.

11. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: Summary of Results, 2001. Cat. no. 4364.0. Canberra: ABS; 2002.

12. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: Summary of Results 2004-05. Cat. no. 4364.0. Canberra: ABS; 2006.

13. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Health Survey: Summary of Results 2007-08 (Reissue). Cat. no. 4364.0. Canberra: ABS; 2009.

14. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Health Survey: First Results, 2011-12. Cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS; 2012.

15. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Updated Results, 2012–13. Cat no. 4727.0.55.006. Canberra: ABS; 2014.

16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing tobacco use among young people: a report of the Surgeon General (Executive Summary). MMWR 1994; 43(No. RR-4).

17. Hill D, White V and Effendi Y. Changes in the use of tobacco among Australian secondary students: results of the 1999 prevalence study and comparisons with earlier years. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2002;26(2):156-63.

18. Scollo MM, Winstanley MH. Tobacco in Australia: Facts and issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria. Accessed January 2016; www.TobaccoInAustralia.org.au

Revision Type

Minor

Version Number

1.1

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Summary

Smoking prevalence in Australia is decreasing

Smoking prevalence is higher among Indigenous persons

Smoking prevalence is higher for persons living in regional and remote Australia, and in lower socioeconomic status areas

Australia has one of the lowest smoking prevalence rates in the world

Data

Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year

Proportion of Australian adults not smoking or smoking daily, by year and age

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by Indigenous status and sex

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by remoteness

Proportion of Australian adults smoking daily, by socioeconomic status (SES)

Proportion of population aged 15 years and over who are daily smokers (most recent year)

Related features

NCCI – About the Data

Data to Inform Cancer Control