Page 309 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 May 1989
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QUIT FOR LIFE - ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN
Ministerial Statement and Paper
MR BERRY (Minister for Community Services and Health), by leave: My observation is that there will not be many members of this Assembly concerned with this matter though I expect that at the end of this delivery I will have unanimous support for the Quit for Life campaign. Today is the second World No Tobacco Day, a day dedicated by the World Health Organisation to highlighting global concerns on the use of tobacco and its ill effects on the health of individuals and communities.
The 1989 theme for World No Tobacco Day is "Women and Tobacco". It has been chosen because of the rapid increase of tobacco use by women throughout the world and the specific consequences that tobacco can have on their own and their children's health. I think, Mr Speaker, our members will agree that the issue is an important one for consideration by this Assembly.
At least 23,000 avoidable premature deaths occur annually in Australia because of tobacco use. This makes smoking and its effects the leading cause of premature death and the major single cause of preventable illness and disease in Australia. I am sure members will agree that this is a staggering figure. In its local perspective, it equates to 368 deaths per year in the ACT - one death per day. This is an unacceptable situation and it is the responsibility of the ACT Government and the community at large to reassess the place of tobacco in our society.
As I have said, World No Tobacco Day this year is targeted at women. While there has been a substantial decline in smoking amongst adult males in Australia - from around 70 per cent at the end of World War II down to 33 per cent in 1986 - smoking rates for adult women have remained at around 30 per cent.
On the surface the battle may appear to be being won or, at worst, the line is being held. Unfortunately, there is another front on which the war is not going well, and that is with young women. An increasing number of young women are taking up smoking, and taking it up at an earlier age. It is now common for young women to be regular and established smokers before they are 15. This increase in the prevalence of smoking by young women is of tremendous concern to both health and welfare bodies and leaders of the commercial sector. Health risks to young women extend well beyond the now commonly known risks of lung cancer, emphysema, stroke, chronic bronchitis, gangrene and heart attack.
I think members would agree that is a nasty range of complaints that one can suffer as a result of tobacco use. Women who smoke are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis, a severe bone weakening disease that is often spoken of. Women who smoke are more likely to develop
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