Sydney, May 31 (FN Agency) While the number of smoking quitters is increasing in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), the health department is urging more people to join this group on the World No Tobacco Day. The 2021 NSW Population Health Survey, published on Tuesday, showed daily smoking rates decreased from 9.2 percent of NSW residents aged over 16 in 2020 to 8.2 percent in 2021. The 2021 NSW Smoking and Health Survey, also published on Tuesday, shows that 41 percent of the participants were serious about quitting in around six months, with 19 percent of those planning to quit in a month. NSW Health Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said she is impressed that so many NSW residents aged over 16 have successfully quit smoking, with around 23 percent of NSW residents counting themselves as former smokers. “The NSW quitters group now numbers about 1.5 million, which is amazing progress because we know quitting can be hard,” Chant said.
While tobacco smoking might be on the decline, he said the growing prevalence of e-cigarette use or vaping by young people is extremely concerning. In 2020-2021, more than one in 10 NSW residents aged 16 to 24 years vaped. The rate was more than doubled compared to the rate in 2019-2020. “This is a worrying trend for our young people because vapes can contain many harmful chemicals and toxins, even if they are nicotine-free. We know vapes can harm your health in the short-term, but the long-term effects are largely unknown,” Chant said. Chant said this increase in vaping has the potential to undermine decades of tobacco control in Australia by creating a new generation of people who smoke. “My message to young people who vape: Please quit today and know there is support available.” The World No Tobacco Day is observed every year on May 31. This year’s theme “Tobacco: Threat to our environment” gives people one more reason to quit by demonstrating the environmental impacts of tobacco.