Today marks “World No Tobacco Day”, a World Health Organization initiative to draw attention to the dangers of tobacco, what governments and health agencies are doing to combat it, and to encourage smokers to quit.
Unfortunately for Australian smokers who are struggling to give up the smokes, there’s little to celebrate. The same government that’s bungling the Covid-19 vaccine rollout is failing in this avenue too.
The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey reveals that the annual rate of smoking cessation among Australians over 14 shrank by nearly half between 2013 and 2019, despite a slew of tobacco control measures, including massive excise hikes and plain packaging, being introduced under the Rudd and Gillard governments. This should raise questions in a country that, until 2012, could’ve been considered a world leader in tobacco control with a sustained long-term decline of 0.46% over the 20 prior years.
Satyajeet Marar – Spectator Australia – 2021-05-31.
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