Smoking threatens Indigenous survival

On World No Tobacco Day, 31 May, Ministers Snowdon, Roxon and Macklin joined Tom Calma to announce that the Federal Government temporary accommodation company Aboriginal Hostels Ltd would join the Tackling Indigenous Smoking campaign by banning smokers anywhere within their public facilities. National Coordinator for Tackle Indigenous Smoking, Tom Calma stated on NITV news that hostels would ensure that smoking would not be welcome in 70 of their nationwide facilities, which provide nearly 4000 beds for transient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Successive governments have halved the number of smokers since 1988 to only 15 per cent of the wider Australian population, however in Indigenous communities the average is nearly 50 per cent. This nationwide epidemic is threatening the survival of Indigenous culture. Indigenous health professionals say that previous anti-smoking government campaigns have not appropriately targeted Indigenous people. A new campaign, Break the Chain, which places less emphasis on the self and more on reducing harm and pain to one’s family through passive smoking or death is reported to be anecdotally improving success within Indigenous groups. See the ads and get help to quit smoking at www.quitnow.gov.au

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Smoking threatens Indigenous survival

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