Talking About the Smokes is a large national research project to better understand the pathways to smoking and quitting for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and to evaluate what works in assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to quit smoking.
The project is a collaboration between research institutions and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) and their state and national representative bodies. It is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
We conducted surveys in communities served by 34 ACCHSs and in the Torres Strait. We completed baseline surveys of 2522 community members and 645 staff members from April 2012 to October 2013. We then conducted follow-up surveys of half of the eligible smokers and ex-smokers in July 2013 to September 2014.
We released our baseline results on 1 June 2015 in a special supplement of the Medical Journal of Australia, available at https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2015/202/10/supplement.
Our final policy and practice brief summarising the project’s findings is available here (May 2020). Previous policy and practice briefs are available here (June 2015), here (January 2017), here (December 2017), here (August 2018) and here (March 2019). An additional policy and practice brief summarising results from remote areas is available here (April 2021).
Our surveys are available at https://itcproject.org/countries/australia-indigenous/.
For further information, please contact Professor David Thomas.
-
Pack warning labels help Aboriginal smokers butt out
Pack warning labels are motivating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers to quit smoking according to new research released by Menzies.
-
Is it time to outlaw cigarette sales in Australia?
In a commentary published in the international journal Tobacco Control, Dr Marita Hefler said “The ongoing availability of cigarettes is an historical anomaly. Any other consumer product that kills up to two-thirds of its long-term users remaining legal is unimaginable.”
-
Call to ban durries in Oz
NT academic says outlawing smokes is not impossible THE rise in popularity of ecigarettes could open the door to a legislated ban on the sale of cigarettes, according to a Northern Territory academic.
-
Top doctor calls for total ban on cigarettes, switch to e-cigarettes
Menzies School of Health researcher Dr Marita Hefler says the rapid evolution of alternative nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes, meant outlawing combustible tobacco, including cigarettes, was now possible.
-
Tackling smoking in remote communities
The development of Yarning about Smoking is a collaboration between the Health Department’s Remote Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce Program in Primary Health Care and the Menzies School of Health Research
-
NTG Media Release | Tackling smoking in remote communities
The development of Yarning about Smoking is a collaboration between the Health Department’s Remote Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce Program in Primary Health Care and the Menzies School of Health Research. The resource can be used and accessed by people all across the Health Department as well as the NGO sector to provide assessments and intervention with people who are smoking.
-
Media Release | Researchers will not accept support from tobacco industry funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World
Leading Australian researchers have stated they will not accept any funding or support from the tobacco industry funded Foundation for a Smoke-Free World in an Editorial in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health today.
-
NT News | NT Government events to go completely smoke free
NT Tobacco Control Action Committee chairman David Thomas said the plan placed special emphasis on reducing harm for Aboriginal Territorians, who suffered the greatest burden from tobacco use.
-
Territorians Health a Priority as new Tobacco Action plan launched on World No-Tobacco Day
The Territory Government has released its plan to improve the health of all Territorians by reducing the harm caused by tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke, and to prevent uptake by young people.
-
RAGCP | Smoking question unlikely to be included in 2021 census
Professor David Thomas, a tobacco-control researcher who led the submission, is disappointed by the outcome but vows to keep fighting.
-
NT's high smoking rate sparks calls to ease vaping laws
Menzies School of Health head of tobacco research David Thomas said there simply was not enough evidence about the potential health benefits.
-
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking rates and the NT
A survey released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows sustained improvement in the national smoking rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
-
.jpg&w=123&h=126)
Media Release | Stress not a barrier to quitting the smokes
Stress may not be a major long-term obstacle to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people quitting smoking, as previously believed, according to new research.
-
Aboriginal Health News Alert #75 - Corona virus and smoking news
Professor David Thomas says health staff can emphasise the research evidence of the benefits to stress management, mental health and well-being that come with successfully quitting smoking.
-
Medical Express | Stress not a barrier to quitting the smokes
Stress may not be a major long-term obstacle to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people quitting smoking, as previously believed, according to new research.
-
Restricting sales to pharmacies proposed
The Centre for Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (CREATE) will involve researchers from 11 institutions with the aim of phasing out smoking for good.
-
Expert calls for complete cigarette ban in 10 years time
Senior Researcher at the Menzies School of Health Research Dr Marita Hefler says there also needs to be a plan in place to help retailers deal with declining cigarette sales.
-
Voice of Islam | World Health Day 2022: Our Planet and our Health - Impacts of smoking
Professor Marita Hefler was a guest on the program to discuss tobacco’s effects on human health and the environment.