Social & cultural

The effects of high rates of smoking also manifest in the economic and social wellbeing of Aboriginal families and communities.

• The spiralling cost of tobacco products for example erode family budgets while medical care for complex and chronic tobacco related health conditions such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease is an added community cost.
• As well, the social impact of tobacco related diseases on Aboriginal families and communities may be experienced in pain and suffering, and the loss of cultural knowledge and human capital as well as community capacity and productivity.
• This is because people become chronically ill and disabled or die prematurely¹.
• This is also the case when Aboriginal children are diagnosed with tobacco related health conditions such as otitis media, pneumonia or asthma, with social costs including family disruption, and/or breakdowns in community networks as children are absent from school when sick or seeking treatment away from home².

<sup>1- Collins, DJ & Lapsley, HM 2005, Counting the costs of tobacco and the benefits of reducing smoking prevalence in NSW, NSW Department of Health, Sydney, p.12

2- http://www.ceitc.org.au/barriers_to_giving_up_smoking</sup>