Gaps in teens’ understanding of smoking harms associated with increased risk of future smoking

A new paper from the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer (CBRC) at Cancer Council Victoria, published today in Tobacco Control, shows gaps in teenagers’ understanding of the harms of smoking. Particularly concerning was the finding that those adolescents who are more susceptible to smoking were less likely to understand that smoking causes a range of diseases and that smoking spreads toxic chemicals all around the body.   

The study showed students have greater awareness of diseases that have been heavily publicised in Australia via campaigns or as graphic health warnings on cigarette packs. More than 4 in 5 adolescents understood that smoking causes lung diseases (87.9%) and heart attacks (80.3%), but over a third didn’t know that smoking causes stomach cancer (35.6%) or makes your bones weak (42.4%).  
 
Professor Sarah Durkin, Director of CBRC said these findings show that campaigns and tobacco graphic health warnings embed awareness of smoking harms across the population. The new set of warnings rolled out later this year will provide further opportunities to educate young Australians.  
 
“We know that young people who have vaped are at least three times as likely to go on to smoke, so with the recent increases in teen vaping and smoking susceptibility, it is critical that we continue to emphasise the extraordinary harmfulness and addictiveness of smoking to prevent experimentation and smoking uptake among young people,” Professor Durkin said. 

The news comes off the back of recent ANU study which found smoking harms are worse than we thought, and that even smoking at low levels is incredibly dangerous. In Australia, where tobacco control efforts have driven daily smoking prevalence down to 8.8%¹, a staggering 24,000 Australians still die every year² from smoking-related illness. That’s 66 deaths a day.

“We must continue to inform young people about the life-threatening harms of cigarettes. At Quit, we’re here for all Australians. We work to help prevent people from starting smoking or vaping. And we’re on hand to help those who smoke or vape to quit,” added Rachael Andersen, Director of Quit. 
 
Important incoming regulation will ban the use of menthol flavouring in tobacco in Australia. Menthol cigarettes are often the first type of cigarettes young people try. This study showed that almost 3 in 4 (74.1%) of adolescents did not know that menthol cigarettes are more addictive than non-menthol equivalents.  
 
“With around 20% of Australian teens at risk of taking up smoking in the future, these findings really highlight the urgent need for continued efforts to prevent new generations taking up this life-threatening habit.” Professor Durkin concluded.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Prue Gildea, Quit Media Manager 

0400 394 274 / prue.gildea@cancervic.org.au  

For support to stop smoking or vaping, connect with Quit. Message us on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger @QuitVic, live chat through quit.org.au or request a call back at a time that suits you. From Mon – Fri 8am to 8pm qualified Quitline counsellors are ready to support you on your quitting journey.

About the study

• Data were from N=8,631 students aged 12 to 17 years who participated in the 2022/2023 round of the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey, the largest national survey of adolescent substance use in Australia. 

• The survey is led by Cancer Council Victoria’s Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, state and territory governments and Cancer Councils in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. 

• The self-report questionnaire is completed by students independently and anonymously on school premises (i.e., without parental involvement).