AMA National Conference 2015 - South Australia the worst as complacent Governments ease up in tobacco fight

SOUTH AUSTRALIA THE WORST AS COMPLACENT GOVERNMENTS EASE UP IN TOBACCO FIGHT

South Australia has the dubious distinction of being the Government that has done the least to act on proven tobacco control measures in the past year, earning it the Dirty Ashtray Award for 2015.

AMA President, Associate Professor Brian Owler, announced that South Australia had won the Dirty Ashtray Award in a ceremony at the AMA National Conference in Brisbane today.

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2015, A/Prof Owler said there had been a dismaying lack of progress in tobacco control by governments across the country in the past 12 months, but South Australia’s performance had been particularly disappointing.

“The good news is that the prevalence of smoking is at a record low – just 12.8 per cent of those aged 14 years or older lit up on a daily basis in 2013,” A/Prof Owler said.

“The bad news is that smoking continues to be the number one cause of preventable disease and death. Around 15,000 people die needlessly each year because of smoking, and research suggests around two-thirds of current smokers – about 1.8 million people – will die because of their habit.”

Now in its 21^st year, the Dirty Ashtray Award goes to the Government that has done the least to control tobacco use. The Dirty Ashtray Award is presented by the AMA and the Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH) each year to put a spotlight on governments who have failed to do enough to protect people from passive smoking or to encourage smokers to give up the deadly habit.

A/Prof Owler said South Australia narrowly escaped receiving the award last year when, at the last minute, it reinstated funding for tobacco control campaigns and announced plans to ban smoking in alfresco dining areas by July 2016.

But the AMA President said this year the State could not escape the reality that it had failed to take any significant action on smoking, and had even gone backwards in some areas of program funding.

“It appears that tobacco control is no longer a priority for the South Australian Government.”

29 May 2015

CONTACT:        Odette Visser,                     02 62705412 / 0427 209 753

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