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Smoking: Latest Ad Welcome, but Security of Funding Needed

The launch today of the latest hard-hitting anti-smoking television advertisement is timely and welcome, but we need a longer-term commitment to tobacco control funding, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, and the Chief Executive Officer of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Ms Anne Jones, said today.

"This ad, featuring the amount of tar a smoker inhales in a year, is the latest in an effective campaign, which began in 1997," Dr Phelps said.

"The campaign evaluation suggests it has helped reduce adult smoking rates in Australia by 1.8 percentage points over an 18 month period.

"We encourage the Minister to ensure these gains are sustained by providing a long-term financial commitment to tobacco control programs.

"The AMA and ASH want to see a reduction in adult smoking rates from 22% today to 15% by 2005.

"A five year funding program would allow us to more effectively reduce premature death and disease. It would allow better strategic planning which in turn would result in sustained reductions in smoking rates.

"Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in this country with 18,000 deaths a year. It kills more Australians than breast and skin cancer, road deaths, suicide, diabetes, AIDS and murder combined.

Ms Jones acknowledged the Minister's work in tobacco control, particularly the development of the National Tobacco Strategy. "But we are yet to see the strategy fully funded."

"The evaluation of the National Tobacco Campaign shows that it is money well spent. It is one of the most effective public health measures, proving even more cost effective than breast or cervical cancer screening," Ms Jones said.

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