Facts and figures
- Indigenous people experience high rates of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and other diseases, many of which are related to tobacco.
- Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of death and the greatest contributor to the burden of disease amongst Aboriginal populations in Australia.
- Tobacco use is probably the single most important preventable cause of ill-health among Indigenous people.
- Smoking prevalence among Aboriginal Australians is more than double the rate among non-Aboriginal people.
- Smoking prevalence has not reduced over recent decades as it has in the rest of the Australian population.
- In 2005, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that, in 2002, just over half (51%) of the Indigenous population aged 15 years or over were cigarette smokers (49% current daily smokers and 2% occasional smokers).
- Similar proportions of men (51%) and women (47%) were current daily (or regular) smokers, and the highest rates were reported by those aged 25-44 years. These are similar to rates reported in 1994 (52%).
Current daily smokers, by Indigenous status and sex, 2004-05
| Age group (years) | Indigenous % |
Non-Indigenous % |
|---|---|---|
|
MALES
|
||
| 18-24 |
50
|
29
|
| 25-34 |
56
|
29
|
| 35-44 |
57
|
29
|
| 45-54 |
50
|
25
|
| 55 and over |
35
|
14
|
|
FEMALES
|
||
| 18-24 |
51
|
23
|
| 25-34 |
54
|
23
|
| 35-44 |
54
|
23
|
| 45-54 |
51
|
20
|
| 55 and over |
26
|
9
|
Current daily smokers by age groups, Males 2004-05
Current daily smokers by age groups, Females 2004-05
Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Australia, 2004–05 (cat. no. 4715.0).
- The prevalence of smoking during pregnancy among NSW Aboriginal women in 2004 was 56.6% - almost unchanged since 1994 (60.3%) and three times that of all pregnant women in NSW.
Source: NSW Midwives Data Collection (HOIST) Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Ministry of Health.
