Up In Smoke

For the first time since the anti-smoking movement was launched almost three decades ago, the number of quitters is stalling. When we’re more well-versed than ever on the risks, why is it still finding favour?

- Elle McClure

Whether it’s feverishly scrolling to the 73-week-plus danger zone on an ex’s new girlfriend’s Instagram, or indulging in a cigarette over wine come 6pm Friday, persisting with something despite knowing the risks defies logic. But unlike the former, the detriment of a stress-busting cigarette extends far past an acute case of RSI.

Since a full-blown anti-smoking campaign began in the early ’90s, the number of smokers has been on a consistent decline, but a triennial survey by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found the number of smokers stalled in the three years between 2013 and 2016, and in the last quarter of 2017, cigarette consumption increased by 2.6 per cent. Our healthy, outdoorsy image is, pardon the pun, smoke and mirrors: Australia’s smoking rate is higher than that of the US and now on par with the UK.

It’s not just pack-a-day smokers doubling down. While the number of people who smoke “occasionally” declined from four per cent in 2006 to three per cent in 2015, that figure rose in 2016, to 3.8 per cent. It’s estimated 18 per cent of those who smoke are occasional smokers – so if that’s you, you’re far from alone.