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1.9 Prevalence of tobacco use among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders

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Note: A brief summary of current prevalence data for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders is presented in this section. For extended discussion refer to Chapter 8 — Tobacco use among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 2.3% of the Australian population.68 Tobacco use is widespread among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.76, 77 Table 1.9 shows smoking rates among Indigenous people, by sex and age group, for 2004–05.77 Half of the combined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are current daily smokers, which is more than double the prevalence among the Australian population as a whole. Smoking rates have remained stable, virtually identical figures being reported in previous national surveys from 1994 (52%)78 and 2002 (51%).76[8]

Table 1.9
Percentage of current daily smoking* among Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders by sex and age group, 2004–05

 

Age group

18–24

25–34

35–44

45–54

55 +

Total

Males

50

56

57

50

35

51

Females

51

54

54

51

26

49

People

50

55

55

50

30

50

* Current daily smokers are those who smoke one or more cigarettes (either manufactured or RYO), cigars or pipes per day, on average. Chewing tobacco and smoking of substances other than tobacco are excluded.

Source: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey77

The substantially higher prevalence of smoking in Australia's Indigenous population may be attributable to a complex range of interrelated factors. Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders are by far the most socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup in the Australian population,79 which in itself is a predictor of increased smoking behaviour (see Section 1.7). Additionally, smoking patterns are also likely to reflect cultural aspects particular to this subpopulation, including the traditional customs of sharing and kinship bonding.80-82

For each age group among both men and women, this population group shows a higher smoking prevalence compared to the overall Australian population. Highest rates of smoking are among males and females aged between 25–44. Overall, males have a slightly higher prevalence of smoking than females (51% compared to 49%).77

[8] The National Drug Strategy Household Survey for 2004, as in previous years, reports on a small Indigenous sample. The prevalence of smoking reported in the 1994, 1998 and 2001 surveys was similar to that of the other national surveys discussed above. However the survey for 2004 returned a much lower population prevalence figure of 39%, down from 49% in 2001. Given the consistently higher prevalence data published by other larger national surveys, it is likely that the NDSHS figure is an outlier. This is probably due to differences in sampling between the 2001 and 2004 surveys. It is known that there is considerable variation in smoking rates between various Indigenous communities, which if not sampled in a comparable manner between surveys, could be expected to skew results. Refer to Chapter 8 for related discussion.

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