Less than one in five Victorian adults are regular smokers, and
over half have never smoked, according to figures released
today. The data, from The Cancer Council Victoria, indicates an
overall reduction in regular smoking prevalence for Victorian
adults since 1998, decreasing to 18.5% in 2005. Latest figures
show smoking rates remain lowest amongst among Victorians over
50, where 11.5% are regular smokers, compared to 21.1% of
Victorians aged 30-49 and 26% of Victorians aged between 18-29
years. Professor Melanie Wakefield, from The Cancer Council
Victoria, said there were several contributing factors to the
continuing decrease in the number of Victorians smoking since
1998, when the proportion of Victorians smoking regularly was
21.7% "In this time, Victoria experienced a rise in smokefree
environments, including shopping centres, enclosed restaurants
and cafés, and we have also been exposed to a raft of quit
smoking advertising campaigns. Price increases also play an
important role in a person's decision