Reducing smoking rates to 10% by 2025 could prevent almost 100,000 lung cancer deaths

Cancer Council calls on governments to revive tobacco campaigns to reduce Australians risk of lung cancer

New Cancer Council research shows 100,000 lung cancer deaths could be avoided this century if smoking rates are reduced to 10% by 2025, prompting calls for renewed Government action in tobacco control.

Currently over 12% of Australians are daily smokers and an additional 3% of Australians smoke less frequently. New Cancer Council NSW research shows that if the smoking rates for all smokers is reduced to 10% by 2025, 97,432 lung cancer deaths could be avoided by 2100.

If smoking rates are reduced to 5%, more than 200,000 lung cancer deaths would be prevented.

While these results are promising, recent Australian data has shown the decline in smoking rates has slowed and Cancer Council is concerned that state and federal Governments are becoming complacent.

Cancer Council Australia is calling for a national comprehensive tobacco control strategy that includes:

• Set targets to achieve declines in smoking prevalence.
• Renewed and significant national investment in hard-hitting anti-tobacco ads like the “every cigarette is doing you damage” campaign.
• New laws to regulate product design and ingredients to stop the tobacco industry finding new ways to entice new young smokers.

Anita Dessaix, Chair, Public Health Committee, Cancer Council Australia said that while not all lung cancers are caused by smoking, tobacco remained the biggest preventable factor behind Australia’s number one cancer killer.

“Smoking doesn’t just cause most lung cancers, it also causes many other cancer types, as well as cardiovascular disease, emphysema and multiple other chronic and fatal conditions.

“Around 2.5 million Australians still smoke and two in three of them will die prematurely from smoking if they don’t quit.

“This study just shows the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential number of lives the next Australian Government, in fact all state and territory governments, could save if tobacco control was made a priority again.

“With an election campaign imminent, federal MPs and candidates have an ideal opportunity to show their commitment to reducing smoking in our communities based on doing more of what works,” said Ms Dessaix.

The latest research findings also coincide with an Australian Government review of tobacco legislation. Ms Dessaix said more needed to be done to protect future generations from big tobacco.

“There has also been a stall in the tobacco legislative reform agenda since plain packaging was introduced. The next Australian government will be well-placed to work with all jurisdictions on implementing a new National Tobacco Strategy.”

Professor Karen Canfell, Director of Research at Cancer Council NSW said the good news was that the new study estimated that previous tobacco control measures introduced since 1956 had already saved almost 79,000 people from dying from a preventable lung cancer.

“Smoking rates halved over the past 25 years. This study highlights the amazing impact of previous measures such as tobacco taxation, plain packaging, smoke-free legislation, mass media campaigns and restrictions on advertising, as well as greater awareness about the benefits of quitting smoking. The indications are that tobacco control measures have put us on a trajectory to potentially save almost two million lives from lung cancer alone by 2100.

“To ultimately reach this goal we need to ensure that the Government commitment to tobacco control continues. We must ensure Australians remain motivated to quit.”