Frequently asked questions
What do we know about smoking among Indigenous people?
- What do we know about the effects of smoking on health? (June 2001)
- What do we know about the numbers/proportion of Indigenous people who smoke cigarettes? (June 2003)
- What are the most common causes of death due to cigarette
smoking among Indigenous people? (June 2001)
For more detailed information about smoking among Indigenous Australians view the HealthInfoNet tobacco use web pages
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Please reference this document as: Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (2003) Frequently asked questions: what do we know about smoking among Indigenous people? Retrieved [access date] http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_keyfacts/faq/faq_health_behaviours/smoking.htm |
What do we know about smoking among Indigenous people?
What do we know about the effects of smoking on health? (June 2001)
Smoking is a major cause of ill-health and mortality, killing about half of all regular cigarette smokers. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis), some cancers (lung, oropharyngeal, laryngeal, bladder, pancreas, cervical), and respiratory disease (chronic obstructive airways disease, pneumonia). Females who smoke during pregnancy increase their risk of ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), premature birth, low weight of babies at birth, and stillbirth. Smoking is also associated with other conditions such as peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, and fire injuries.
What do we know about the numbers/proportion of Indigenous people who smoke cigarettes? (June 2003)
A greater proportion of Indigenous than non-Indigenous people smoke. The 2001 National Health Survey (NHS) found that 51% of Indigenous people aged 18 years of older smoked, compared with 24% of non-Indigenous people of that age range [1]. All except 2% of smokers reported doing so smoking daily. Similar proportions of Indigenous males and females reported smoking, and, importantly, the proportions were high across all age groups. Overall, the proportion of Indigenous people living in remote areas who reported smoking (56%) was slightly higher than the proportion for those living in non-remote areas (49%).
What are the most common causes of death due to cigarette smoking among Indigenous people? (June 2001)
Smoking-related deaths are much higher for Indigenous people than non-Indigenous people. Indigenous people are up to eight times more likely to die from smoking-related diseases when compared with non-Indigenous people [2]. The most common cause of death among Indigenous people due to cigarette smoking is coronary heart disease (CHD). The second common cause of death is lung cancer for Indigenous males, and chronic bronchitis for Indigenous females [3].
Table: Estimated age-standardised death rates for the three most frequent causes of death due to tobacco smoking, by Indigenous status and sex, Western Australia, 1989-1991
| Cause | Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous people | Coronary heart disease | 99 | 46 |
| Lung cancer | 47 | 11 | |
| Chronic bronchitis | 40 | 16 | |
| All causes | 271 | 118 | |
| Non-Indigenous people | |||
| Lung cancer | 34 | 9 | |
| Coronary heart disease | 31 | 7 | |
| Chronic bronchitis | 20 | 5 | |
| All causes | 113 | 32 |
Source: Unwin, Thomson & Gracey, 1995 [3]
Notes:
1. Rates are deaths per 100,000 population
2. See glossary for details of age-standardised death rates
References
1 Australian Bureau
of Statistics (2002) National Health Survey: Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander results. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics
2 Cunningham J (1997) Cigarette smoking among Indigenous
Australians. Canberra, Australian Bureau of Statistics
3 Unwin CE, Gracey M, Thomson N (1995) The impact
of tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption on Aboriginal mortality in
Western Australia. Medical Journal of Australia;162:475-478.
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