Say no to smokes project

The following summary was organised by project staff and members of the Say No to Smokes Advisory Committee and is reproduced with the permission of Project Coordinator in 2002, Leanne Woods.

Suggested citation: Say No To Smokes Advisory Committee (2003, 16 January) Say no to smokes project. Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin, 3(1), Brief report 1. Retrieved [access date] from http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_bulletin/bull_31/bulletin_brief_reports_tobacco.htm

Smoking is a major health problem and kills many people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are at a greater risk of getting sick or dying before their time through cigarette smoking.

Reports produced by the Health Information Centre, Department of Health in July 2001 comparing tobacco related hospitalisation and death rates found that in Western Australia between 1990 and 1999 the rate of death was 2.2 times higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and 2.8 times higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females than the wider community.

In Western Australia between 1994 and 2000 the rate of hospitalisation was 3.1 times higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and 4.4 times higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females compared to the wider community.

On 14 November 2002 an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Tobacco Forum was organised for the first time (in Perth, Western Australia) to discuss new research and health programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We aimed to specifically deal with smoking and health issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and call to action Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders to come together and pave the way to improve the health of our people.

The Forum provided an opportunity to meet community leaders, gain support of initiatives that aim to reduce the harm caused by smoking in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and raised the profile of smoking as an important public health issue in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The Forum began with a Noongar Welcome and a moment of silence to acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the past, present and future and was followed by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. It was an opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presenters from Perth, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Victoria and New South Wales to show case their projects and for smokers and non-smokers to share their experiences of smoking, why they smoked, why it’s hard for them to quit, what made them quit and how they feel today.

For further information about the Say no to smokes project contact:

Australian Council on Smoking and Health
Level 1, 46 Ventnor Avenue
WEST PERTH WA 6005
Ph: (08) 9212 4300
Fax: (08) 9212 4301
Email: info@acosh.org

Acknowledgments:
The Say No to Smokes Advisory Committee would like to thank the Office of Aboriginal Health; Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service; Department of Health; Cancer Foundation of Western Australia; Australian Council on Smoking and Health and Healthway.