World No Tobacco Day is a reminder of how far Australia has come in reducing smoking, and how far we still have to go to eliminate our biggest single preventable cause of disease and death.
Today, and every other day, at least 40 Australians will die from smoking-related diseases.
Labor’s world leading anti smoking measures from bans on tobacco advertising to graphic health warnings and plain packaging have sent smoking rates and tobacco consumption plunging to record lows.
The latest national accounts figures reveal tobacco consumption has fallen 12.8 per cent in the two years since Labor’s plain packaging laws came into effect.
As feared by tobacco companies, Australia’s lead has created an unstoppable momentum with Britain and Ireland copying Australia’s laws, and the European Union expected to follow.
Labor’s example in staring down the ferocious legal attacks from big tobacco is now inspiring the rest of the world to follow this major advance in public health, just as we led the world with bans on advertising, and graphic health warnings.
Today, just one in eight adults smoke, a dramatic improvement on the 50 per cent who smoked 60 years ago, but that still takes a terrible toll on our nation.
Every year smoking killing 15,000 Australians and the economic and social cost of smoking is estimated at $31.5 billion a year.
If you smoke, call the Quitline today on 13 78 48 and make World No Tobacco Day the day you make every day No Tobacco Day.