Quitting Smoking: According to a study, a 2% drop in smoking rates could save 100,000 lives

Reducing smoking rates by just 2% in Australia could save nearly 100,000 lives.

A new study shows that reducing the rate to 10% by 2025 would help achieve this figure, which would encourage the Cancer Council to put more pressure on governments to restart anti-smoking campaigns.

Currently, more than 12% of Australians smoke daily and 3% less.

Research by the NSW Cancer Council shows that reducing rates could prevent 97,432 lung cancer deaths by 2100.

If the smoking rate were reduced to 5%, this figure would rise to more than 200,000 deaths from lung cancer.

Recent Australian data have shown that the decline in smoking rates has slowed.

The Cancer Council is concerned that state and federal governments are becoming complacent.

They call for a comprehensive national tobacco control strategy that includes:

• Set goals to reduce the prevalence of smoking.

• A renewed and significant national investment in powerful anti-smoking advertising, such as the "Every Cigarette Hurts" campaign.

• New laws regulating the design of products and ingredients to prevent the tobacco industry from finding new ways to attract new young smokers.

Chair of the organization's public health committee, Anita Dessaix, said that although not all lung cancers were caused by smoking, tobacco remains the main avoidable factor behind first cancer in Australia.

"Smoking does not only cause most lung cancers, but also many other types of cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease, emphysema and many other chronic and life-threatening diseases," she said.

"About 2.5 million Australians are still smoking and two out of three will die prematurely from smoking if they do not quit.

"This study only shows the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of potential lives that the next Australian government, indeed all state and territory governments, could save if tobacco control becomes a priority again.

"With an impending election campaign, MPs and candidates have an ideal opportunity to show their commitment to reducing smoking in our communities by doing more to get what works."

Alysha Lambert lost his father, Peter, in June 2015, as a result of several heart attacks caused by smoking between the ages of 38 and 66 years.

She was only two years old when he had his first time as a smoker at the unit. He stopped but did not adhere to his medication.

"Dying of a heart attack or illness should not be considered normal," she said.

The latest research findings also coincide with the Australian government's review of tobacco legislation.

Ms. Dessaix said that there is still much to be done to protect future generations of large tobacco.

"The tobacco control reform program has also been stalled since the introduction of plain packaging," she said.

"The next Australian government will be well positioned to work with all jurisdictions to implement a new national tobacco strategy."

The new study estimates that anti-smoking measures implemented since 1956 had already allowed nearly 79,000 people to avoid dying from preventable lung cancer.

Smoking rates have halved over the last 25 years.

All indications are that tobacco control measures have enabled Australia to potentially save two million lives from lung cancer alone by 2100.

Originally published as a tiny figure could save 100,000 lives