Tobacco Advertising Bans Effective to Curb Smoking: Study

A man holds a lit cigarette while smoking in San Francisco, on Dec. 2, 2020. The Canadian Press/AP-Jeff Chiu

A recent study has found the banning of tobacco advertising to be effective in reducing the prevalence of smoking, primarily through limiting exposure to potential new smokers.

The Griffith University study, published in the British Medical Journal’s Tobacco Control, pooled data from 71 countries, and examined the banning of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS), and its impact on smoking rates and behaviours.

The study found a TAPS ban could reduce the prevalence of smoking by 20 percent after a 5–10 year period.

The ban also reduced the likelihood of a person taking up smoking by 37 percent.

“According to the 2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than one in ten Australian adults currently smoke,” said Christina Saad, the study’s lead author.

“Tobacco use continues to be the second leading cause of preventable disease and death in Australia, so the results from our study are heartening to see the TAPS bans are influencing smoking behaviour.

“However, it is important to note our research found no clear evidence that the TAPS ban significantly helped people to quit smoking.”

The study noted that “tobacco marketing and promotion generally incentivise consumers to start smoking,” suggesting that TAPS bans work as a preventative measure rather than a quitting tool.

Smoking in Australia

There are 11.1 percent of Australian adults who are currently smoking, according to Tobacco in Australia.

From 1995 to 2023, the smoking prevalence in Australian adults has decreased by 63 percent. The decline coincided with media-led campaigns for quitting smoking from the early 80s.

Statistics from the Australia Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveal tobacco use accounted for 7.6 percent of the total burden of disease and injury.

Tobacco use was attributed to numerous diseases, contributing to 70 percent of lung cancer, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder), laryngeal cancer cases, and 47 percent of lip and oral cavity cancer, and oesophageal cancer cases.

The most recent statistics from AIHW found tobacco use contributed to 20,500 deaths in 2018, accounting for 13 percent of all deaths.

The Future of Tobacco

The Department of Health and Aged Care’s National Tobacco Strategy aims to “achieve a national daily smoking prevalence of less than 10 percent by 2025 and 5 percent or less by 2030 in Australia, and reduce the daily smoking rate among First Nations people to 27 percent or less by 2030” for people aged 18 and over.

The prevalence of smokers is continuing to decline, but there is more that can be done to help people quit.

The AIHW reported 28 percent of smokers tried to quit but were unsuccessful in 2022-2023. However, 19.8 percent were able to quit for more than one month, and a further 39 percent reduced their daily tobacco smoked.

The cost of smoking was the main motivation that incentivised people to quit or cut back on smoking, accounting for over half (53 percent) of cases, while 45 percent of smokers claimed they tried to quit due to health and fitness implications.

Strategies to Cut Down and Quit Smoking

The AIHW report found 62 percent of smokers implemented strategies and participated in activities to reduce or quit smoking.

Among the common strategies included going “cold turkey” (completely cutting off nicotine) or using e-cigarettes as an alternate method to help reduce and quit.

Regarding e-cigarettes, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey neither recommends nor advises against its use as a method to quit smoking.

Others used nicotine gum, nicotine patches, and other nicotine products to replace smoking.

Cancer Council NSW provides a list of strategies and plans to quitting smoking. In addition to going cold turkey and replacing nicotine, they put forth prescription medication to manage withdrawal symptoms (such as cravings, irritability, and anxiety).

Professional support is also available for people wanting to quit. Services and hotlines are available, such as Quitline, which can be accessed via the website or by calling 13 78 48.

Other services include iCanQuit, and eheadspace.