TASMANIA should hike cigarette prices even further if it wants young people and the disadvantaged to give up the habit, a leading health organisation says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Quit Tasmania has called for regulators to specifically target heavy smoking demographics with price increases as it looks to stamp out the habit.
It follows revelations that the rate of smoking among Tasmanians aged 15 to 24 has risen by about 6.7 per cent in three years.
"The evidence shows us people who are disadvantaged as well as young people are particularly sensitive to price increases, so they stand to benefit the most from tax increases in terms of their health and life expectancy,” Quit Tasmania director Abby Smith said.
Since 2010, the price of cigarettes has risen from $15 to about $25-30, prices are now set to reach $40 by 2020.
Tobacco consumption in Tasmania has fallen by 48 per cent over the last decade.
Ms Smith has also recommended that organisations continue to expand on the work being done, including smoke-free areas, social media marketing and smoking cessation support services.
Nicotine patches are also effective for quitting, Ms Smith said, and can be accessed through the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.
Tasmanian Council of Social Service chief executive Kym Goodes said that although the tobacco tax is effective in reducing smoking rates, revenue is misplaced into the government’s coffers.
“Overall, the reliance on social taxes such as smoking, alcohol and gambling is a concern at a state and commonwealth level,” she said.
“This impacts on good public policy decisions when governments’ are addicted themselves to the revenue raised and are therefore less likely to invest heavily in the preventative models.”
Ms Goodes said the funds should be allocated to both individual and organisation support models, including increased funding for the Cancer Council and providing individuals with assessments from GPs about what they need to do to quit.
