Aus - Smoking rates are falling but older people are smoking as much as ever

[poledriver]

Smoking rates are falling but older people are smoking as much as ever

Rusted-on older smokers are resisting stubbing out their cigarettes, as younger generations drive a dramatic drop in smoking rates, NSW Health data reveals.

Smoking rates have dropped two percentage points in the last year alone, from 15.6 per cent to 13.5 per cent, found the report from the HealthStats NSW report released Monday.

But among 45-54-year-olds, the age bracket that includes renowned pack-a-day smoker Shane Warne, smoking rates jumped more than two per cent.

Since 2003 smoking rates have declined by 10 per cent, found the population survey, which interviewed roughly 13,000 people across the state every year.

Ten years ago more than one in four people between 16 and 44 smoked. In 2015 the percentage of people who smoked dropped to roughly 15 per cent.

"This is no small feat. Just a few decades ago smoking was so prevalent it was allowed in our workplaces, homes, cars, buses and train," NSW health minister Jillian Skinner said.

But the decline was driven by millennials and generations X and Y, as smoking rates among older generations either rose or stagnated.

The fall in smoking rates was most impressive among 35-44 year-olds, dropping more than 14% from 28.9% to 14.5% since 2003, but their elders kept lighting up.

Smoking rates hardly budged among people aged 65 and over, and rose slightly among those aged 75 and over.

Older people would generally find it harder to quit after decades of smoking, given that most smokers picked up the habit as teenagers, Anita Dessaix, manager of Cancer Prevention at the Cancer Institute NSW, said.

"The message particularly for old people is not to despair and keep trying and that there is hope and support and that they can quit smoking," Ms Dessaix said.

Overall the statistics bore the fruits of a number of measures under the NSW Tobacco strategy launched in 2012, including the introduction of plain packaging, the expansion of smoke-free areas across the state, the increase in the price of cigarettes and ongoing public education campaigns, she said.

These strategies often proved more effective with younger adults, especially those that targeted their wallets, Ms Dessaix said.

The findings come as Quitline recorded a 21 per cent boost in the number of callers the week after federal treasurer Scott Morrison announced the new tobacco excise would see a pack of cigarettes cost an estimated $41 by 2020, compared to the week before.

The techie solution to lowering smoking rates, the e-cigarette, was a fraught option.

A study by the Cancer Institute NSW found that while young people in NSW were taking up e-cigarettes with gusto, they weren't using them to replace tobacco.

Adults under 30 were less likely than older smokers to use e-cigarettes to help them cut down or quit smoking, found the study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.

They used the devices because they tasted better and could be smoked in places where smoking cigarettes was banned.

Ms Dessaix said there were growing concerns that e-cigarettes normalised smoking behaviour, which could lead to young users moving on to smoking tobacco.

The e-cigarettes appealed to smokers, especially if they believed the vapors had no negative health effects.

"People need to be aware that we don't currently know what risks they pose. Research has shown electronic cigarettes produce particulate matter and there is currently no known safe level of exposure," Ms Dessaix said.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/heal...data-finds-20160513-gour4c.html#ixzz48lJ5XqO6

 

[JessFR]

This seems so stupid and obvious.

Of course the younger quit the most and least started, they're more susceptible to peer pressure, they have lower incomes and so can't afford them as they got so much more expensive, and are far less worried about dying from it on the whole, since it doesn't kill you for decades, and they figure they can still quit and make it out without much increased risk in the long term (which technically is true in fact).

Of course the mid 30-40 year olds dropped a lot, that's the age you start realizing you've lives about half your life and aren't the same as you were in your 20s on terms of health. And start thinking about the future more on average. They also tend to be the most health conscious for all these reasons, and are old enough to be worried about their smoking more seriously and young enough to feel it's not too late to quit and reduce their risk.

Of course the oldest among us smoke the most, they're from a generation where nearly everyone smoked, everywhere, are the ones who've not quit based on precious warnings, and are the ones for whom their life of smoking will start feeling the consequences soon, and least likely to benefit from quitting.

It just seems obvious. By all means do studies and gather statistics for things that seem obvious in case they're not, and if they wind up being interesting and counterintuitive, try and figure out why. And in being strange make interesting news. But when you get the result that was obvious with obvious explanations, move on to something else. People shouldn't find this surprising at all.

 

[JessFR]

Although one demographic of 20 somethings I can think of that still seem to be almost universally smokers.... Us, drug users and addicts. I smoke, most, actually almost all of my social circle smoke. Guess what my social circle have in common besides smoking...

Still pretty obvious huh?