Australia’s Smokers Defy Stereotypes: Majority Employed, Educated

A woman smokes a cigarette June 30, 2003 in Paris, France. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Quit-smoking material must step up to better reflect Australia’s 2.5 million daily smokers because, contrary to common belief, they’re not all unemployed or less educated, according to new research.

A first-of-its-kind national study, “Who Smokes In Australia?” published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Feb. 18, shatters the stereotype of smokers as mainly disadvantaged, Indigenous, or with poor mental health, revealing the widespread impact of smoking across the entire community.

While smoking rates may be higher among disadvantaged groups, around 70 percent of daily smokers are employed, roughly 76 percent are in good physical and mental health, with over two-thirds having completed year 12.

Additionally, 92 percent are non-Indigenous, 65 percent live in major cities, and 60 percent are men.

Australian National University (ANU) senior author Professor Emily Banks said smokers who need support to quit often don’t feel represented in anti-smoking campaigns.

“They need to ‘see themselves’ in material and campaigns tackling tobacco,” she argued.

“This [smoking] is everyone’s problem; it’s not just confined to one group ... often smoking becomes so stigmatised that people are doing it in secret, and they think it’s somebody else’s problem,” she told ABC radio.

She said the findings can help lessen unfair stigma and support evidence-based measures to control smoking.

“Smoking remains Australia’s leading cause of premature death and disability, so it’s vital that we better understand who smokes and the reasons why they do.”

Lead author Jessica Aw added researchers now grasp the “world-first” revelation that the smoking population resembles broader Australia.

“No other study nationally or internationally has sought to comprehensively understand this,” the ANU medical student mentioned.

She notes previous studies failed to look at who smokers “really” were as they only compared smokers with non-smokers.

“Results from previous studies have described associations with smoking such as people who smoke are more likely to be living rurally, unemployed, uneducated and have poor mental health which can contribute to stigma,” Ms. Aw said.

The study involved findings from a nationally representative sample of 16,000 people using Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Inclusive Health Messaging Urged for Diverse Populations

The researchers argued health messaging should address both broad and specific populations, including Indigenous Australians, without singling out any particular group.

Co-author Associate Professor Raglan Maddox said, “Effective, relevant communications should reflect the lives of smokers.”

“We need both broad messages and specific approaches for priority populations, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, while taking care not to frame it as an issue unique to one particular group,” he said.

Cancer Council Australia (CCA) also calls for a multi-strategy approach to reduce smoking-related death and disease across the country while simultaneously accelerate the decline in smoking use among Indigenous Australians.

This approach requires action from all levels and sectors of government, as well as non-government, community, and health organisations,” the national leading cancer charity said.

CCA has since praised the passing of the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Bill 2023 in December, which introduced measures to discourage smoking by making tobacco products less appealing and restricting marketing to vulnerable groups.

Cancer Council Australia’s CEO Tanya Buchanan said it comes as over 250,000 Australians are predicted to die of smoking-related cancers over the next 20 years.

“This legislation reflects the latest evidence and is a significant step in reducing smoking rates to less than 5 percent by 2030,” she said.

“Cancer Council encourages every member of Parliament to take this critical opportunity to protect all Australians from Big Tobacco seeking profit off their deadly products.”