NSW Smokers' attitudes and beliefs: Changes over three years

Cancer reports
01 Feb 2008
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This monograph examines changes in NSW smokers’ attitudes, beliefs and knowledge over the past three years, all of which has been used to set the direction for future campaign development and success.

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disease, including cancer, in NSW. The NSW State Plan sets a target to reduce smoking rates by 1% each year. The use of social marketing to reinforce the health risks of smoking to adults, supported by accessible quit smoking services, is considered best practice in effective tobacco control intervention.

The State Plan commits the Cancer Institute NSW to continue its efforts to meet this challenge. In the NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005-2009 and the NSW Cancer Plan 2007-2010, it is also noted that the Cancer Institute NSW has responsibility for the design, development and delivery of social marketing mass-media campaigns, which educate and motivate people to quit smoking.

The continued decline in smoking prevalence since 2003 is encouraging. The 2.4% decline in 2006 was due to a number of contributing factors that came together in one year. These include the introduction of graphic health warnings on cigarette packs (from March 2006), further restrictions on smoking in licensed venues and the quality and frequency of anti-smoking advertising conducted by the Cancer Institute NSW.

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