Reasons behind Prevalent Smoking Practices in Australia

Assignment on the Reasons
behind Prevalent Smoking
Practices in Australia

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Aim of the Investigation.........................................................................................................4
Objectives of the Study..........................................................................................................4
Method of Inquiry......................................................................................................................5
Discussion and Conclusion......................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................14

Introduction
The biggest factor causing death and decline in health in the Australian populace was credited
to tobacco smoking practices as of 2011, responsible for causing injuries and diseases to 9%
of total populace increasing their risks to cardiovascular diseases, respiratory and related
health issues affecting the physical, emotional, social and mental well-being of individuals
associated with present tobacco usage, past usage and to individuals with exposure to passive
smoking (USHHS 2014). Estimated reports suggested that tobacco smoking resulted in lung
cancer to 80% and was the root-causal factor of 75% of COPD cases, claiming over 15,000 of
Australians annually. Smoking also amounted to an economic expenditure of $31.5 billion in
2005 which raised the strategic preventable measures in Australia resulting in drastic
reductions in smoking rates in the present time (IGCD 2013). Strategies like advertisement
bans, indoor smoking bans, outdoor smoking bans, bans in plain packaging, increment in
prices, restricted sales to the minors, educational awareness generation and media based
campaigns on smoking and its detrimental efficacies have all worked towards reducing the
smoking rates in Australia (MCDS 2011). The National-Drug-Strategy-Household-Survey of
2010, recognised that there are lesser people taking up smoking aged 14 years or above in
present times as compared to that before, with 57.8% of non-smokers now in comparison to
the 49% of 1991 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). However, the smoking
rats of populace suggests a group of populace to be in high prevalent range of smoking as the
others, with 5 times more the rate (Stafford, 2012). These high smoking zone of populace
consists mostly of mentally-ill people, people with high alcohol and drug dependency,
prisoners and younger prison populaces (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009).
There is a 17% health-gap between the indigenous Australian and the non-indigenous people
owing to smoking, with wide spread poverty, diseases, death, financial crisis, lack of stable
shelter, housing and stress (Kim, and Tsoh, 2016).

Table: Smoking rate amongst diverse groups in Australian populace
(Source: Www1.health.gov.au, 2019)
Aim of the Investigation
The present study focuses on the diverse health impacts affecting the Australian
demographics due to smoking practices. The study aims “to understand the factors which
influences smoking, the level of awareness generation and how the 4-components of human
health gets affected by smoking practices in the Australian population.”
For investigating upon the same, the study focused in primary and secondary data collection
means through quantitative data collection means in the form of surveys considering a sample
population of 22 respondents irrespective of their age, occupation and genders. The study
focused on secondary sources of peer-reviewed journals, literary works and articles published
in international forums and also relied on government sites for data collection. The significant
impacts of smoking, the demographics affected and the benefits of social and community
based health-care measures have also been elicited.

Objectives of the Study
On the basis of the aforementioned aim the investigation has been carried out relied on the
three objectives as detailed below, to help direct the investigation in the right track and for
efficient data analysis and interpretation.
1. To determine the influential factors behind smoking.
2. To elucidate the level of awareness present in Australia and their effectiveness in
prevention of smoking
3. To determine the impact of smoking on the four components of human health –
mental, physical, social and physical.
Thus the investigation is based upon the following Research Questions:
1. What influences a person to start smoking?
2. Is there enough awareness to prevent people from smoking in Australia?
3. How does smoking affect the persons 4 components of health?
Method of Inquiry
The present study has been focused upon two methods of data collection, namely the primary
and the secondary method of data collection. The primary data collection procedure considers
22 Australian respondents irrespective of their age, gender, occupation or lifestyles. The
secondary data is obtained in the study from a collection of government sites, peer-reviewed
journal articles, and internationally acclaimed literary sources containing relevant data of
recent years ranging from 2009 to 2019.
Determining the influential factors behind smoking
Diverse population group have different afflictions to smoking as controlled by several
factors like psychological, economic, social and cultural factors, as discussed below (Figure
1):
Factors enabling smoking
There are several factors which influence smoking uptake and smoking patterns amongst the
Australian populace like (Cougle, et al., 2010).
 Unemployment, low income and poor housing facility
 Childhood nicotine exposure

 Economic stress
 Depression and anxiety
 Parental exposure and peer pressure
 Intensive/targeted tobacco marketing
 Low indoor working hours
Barriers faced in quitting tobacco
People are more adept in taking up tobacco than in refraining from it. This is further fuelled
by certain barriers which prevent the quitting of tobacco usage as discussed below (Rayson,
2011):
 High nicotine dependency
 Lower awareness generation
 Lack of knowledge and misconceptions
 Lack of knowledge on cessation services available
 NRT therapy knowledge
 Economic stress
 Lack of family and peer support
 Low confidence
 Boredom
 Equalising smoking as a “stress-bursting hobby”