More smokers across the Wyndham area may be butting out, but the number of those lighting up is still too high, the director of Quit Victoria has suggested.
Dr Sarah White said 29 per cent of Wyndham residents surveyed by the state’s Health Department had identified as “ex-smokers”, higher than the state average of just 25 per cent.
Dr White said it was difficult to pinpoint a particular reason why the rate of smoking in Wyndham (17.7 per cent) was two per cent higher than the state average.
“I’d be leaning to the idea that it might have something to do with the level of manufacturing,” she said.
“Census data shows that more Wyndham residents work in manufacturing than any other industry, and we know that blue collar workers have traditionally smoked more than their white-collar counterparts.”
“It’s a really positive sign that the percentage of ex-smokers in Wyndham is high,” Dr White said. “The fact the smoking rate is decreasing faster than across the rest of the state, but is still more than the state average, suggests that it started pretty high.”
She said there were three key factors that led to the decrease in the rate of smoking.
“People now know how dangerous smoking is to their own health and to the health of people around them.
“A range of laws have been introduced to create smoke-free areas where people work and gather together, and finally, there’s price.
“Smokers can spend up to $7500 a year on a pack-a-day habit, and a lot of people have realised it simply doesn’t make sense to literally burn money.”
Dr White acknowledged it wasn’t easy to stop smoking, but quitting was an achievable goal.
“The important thing to realise is that you don’t have to do it alone,” she said.
Quitline offers assistance from experts to help create plans to quit.
More information is at quitnow.gov.au or phone 137 848.
