22 Feb 2018
Source:
NSW Smoking and Health Survey, 2017 (PDF)
About the survey
The NSW Smoking and Health Surveys measure tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviours among NSW adults. The surveys form part of the Cancer Institute NSW’s evaluation of its tobacco control program. They also assist the NSW Ministry of Health with policy relating to tobacco control measures.
The 2017 survey aimed to understand the following about NSW adults:
- Smokers’ use of tobacco, their quit attempts and reasons for considering quitting.
- Knowledge of the health consequences of smoking, including exposure to second-hand smoke.
- Awareness and attitudes to e-cigarettes.
- Knowledge and attitudes towards current and potential tobacco control measures.
Where possible throughout this report, results have been compared with previous periods to show trends over time. The NSW Smoking and Health survey is conducted and reported on bi-annually.
View previous reports:
Note: For the latest data on smoking rates in NSW, visit www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au
What is the survey telling us?
Smoking behaviour
People are smoking less
More than half (53%) of daily smokers, smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day. This is up from 36% in 2015
- The number of cigarettes smoked daily is down from 15.1 in 2015 to 13.6 in 2017.
- Waterpipe use by smokers has halved since 2015 (7% down to 3% in 2017).
- Roll-your-own (RYO) use is down from 30% to 24% (2015–2017).
Nicotine dependence
Most smokers are not actually dependent on tobacco
57% of smokers are classified as having a ‘very low dependence’ and 18% have a low dependence on tobacco
- Only 6% have a ‘high’ (4%) or ‘very high’ (2%) dependence.
- Smoking dependence is lower among young people: Among 18 to 39-year–olds, 71% have ‘very low dependency’ and 12% have ‘low dependency’.
Quitting thoughts and intentions
Many smokers intend to quit
22% of smokers think about quitting several times a day.
- 1 in 5 smokers are planning to quit in the next 30 days.
- 62% of smokers are considering quitting in the next 6 months; with 42% ‘seriously considering it’.
- 73% of current smokers have made at least one quit attempt.
- The median number of quit attempts was three.
- 27% of smokers have never tried to quit.
- Health is the main reason people quit (73%), followed by cost of cigarettes or tobacco (30%).
E-cigarettes
46% of people agreed that e-cigarettes are unsafe to use
More people try e-cigarettes out of curiosity than as a quit aid
- Only 5% of people mentioned e-cigarettes as a method to help smokers quit.
- Only 29% of e-cigarette users said they used them to help quit smoking; 9% said they used them to cut down.
- Only 38% of people are confident that e-cigarettes help smokers to quit.
- 40% of people disagree that e-cigarettes help smokers to quit, including 34% of those who have tried them.
- Curiosity as a reason to try e-cigarettes has dropped from 54% in 2015 to 36% in 2017.
People are uncertain of the safety of e-cigarettes
- 46% of people agreed that e-cigarettes are unsafe to use, including 30% of those who have used them
- Only 29% of people are confident that it is safe to use e-cigarettes around others, and only 52% are confident that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco.
- 70% of people support a ban on e-cigarettes where smoking is banned.
- 46% of people agree that it’s unsafe to smoke e-cigarettes around others, including 30% of those that have used them
Awareness of health effects
People remain largely aware of the health effects of smoking
Almost 100% of people are aware that smoking causes lung cancer
- Unprompted, lung cancer continues to be the main illness associated with smoking (72%; 2015: 67%). When promoted, virtually everyone was aware that smoking causes lung cancer (98%).
- Other illnesses people associated with smoking (unprompted) include:
- cancer in general (47%)
- emphysema (41%)
- heart disease (33%)
- throat cancer (19%)
- mouth/oral cancer (19%)
- gangrene (12%)
- stroke (11%)
- lung/breathing disease problems (10%)
- Knowledge of smoking-related illnesses and diseases differs by age. Those under 60 years were significantly more aware of most illnesses associated with smoking than were those aged 60 and over.
Attitudes to smoking
Most people have negative attitudes towards smoking
42% of people who smoke are embarrassed to be a smoker
- Only 1 in 5 smokers disagree that their smoking affects the health of others around them, including children.
- More than half (56%) of smokers agreed that they felt uncomfortable smoking in public places.
- 52% agreed that there are so few places to smoke now, that they smoke when they can rather than when they want to.
- Only 15% of smokers said they don’t care about bans and will smoke wherever they want.
Price increases
Most people support price increases to discourage smoking
69% agree with further price increases to discourage young people from smoking
- 69% agree with further price increases to discourage young people from smoking, including 38% of current smokers.
- 63% agree with further price increases to encourage people to quit smoking, including 36% of current smokers.
- 74% would agree with a ban on smoking on beaches.
Regulation in outdoor areas
Most people are aware of, and approve of, smoking regulations in outdoor areas
Most people approve of the laws, including in outdoor dining areas (91% of non-smokers and 75% of smokers)
- More than nine in 10 (91%) are aware of the laws banning smoking for some outdoor public spaces.
- 8 in 10 (82%) approve of these laws to some extent.
- Non-smokers continued to have a significantly higher level of approval.
- Support for bans on smoking on balconies of residential buildings is divided: 54% agreed and 42% disagreed.
Plain packaging
Plain packaging impacts on smokers’ behaviour
47% of smokers said plain packaging had some impact on their behaviour
- 71% of people support plain packaging.
- 47% of smokers said plain packaging had some impact on their behaviour: 26% thought about quitting; 22% smoked less; and 15% tried to quit.
- 29% of smokers under 40 said plain packaging made them smoke less.