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Quantifying the social and economic costs of tobacco in Australia

  • Research program:
  • Project status: Completed
  • Start date: January 2018
  • Expected end date: April 2019
  • Completion date: October 2019
  • Funded by: AGDH
  • Lead organisation:
Project Description

Although Australia has made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of tobacco use, with daily smoking having declined from 24.3% in 1991 to 12.2% in 2016, tobacco remains the leading behaviour risk factor for disease burden and is responsible for nearly 15,000 deaths per year. In 2004/05 the social cost of tobacco was estimated at $31.5 billion, including those impacted by involuntary smoking (“passive” smoking and in utero exposure). NDRI updated the social cost of smoking to reflect the change in prevalence.

NDRI collaborated with leading epidemiologists, policy-makers, economists, Indigenous health experts and tobacco control advocates, with the report released to the public in October 2019.

PhD Student
PhD Supervisors
NDRI Project Staff
Name & Contact Details Role Research Program Location
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Professor Steve Allsop
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1606
s.allsop@curtin.edu.au
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Chief Investigator

Alcohol policy and strategies

Perth
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Professor Tanya Chikritzhs
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1609
t.n.chikritzhs@curtin.edu.au
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Chief Investigator

Alcohol policy and strategies

Perth
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Professor Simon Lenton
Tel: 61 (0)8 9266 1603
s.lenton@curtin.edu.au
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Chief Investigator

Harm reduction policy and strategies

Perth
NDRI Adjunct Project Staff
External Project Staff
  • Chief Investigator: Robert Tait, Curtin University
  • Chief Investigator: Steve Whetton, University of Adelaide
  • Project staff: Aqif Mukhtar, Curtin University
Project Contact
Sustainable Development Goals and Targets

This project aligns with the following Sustainable Development Goals and Targets:

Related Publications

Makate, M., Whetton, S., Tait, R., J., Dey, T., Scollo, M., Banks, E., Norman, R., Pidd, K., Roche, A. and Allsop, S. (2019). Tobacco Cost of Illness Studies: A Systematic Review. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntz038 [RJ1448] View web page

Whetton, S., Tait, R., J., Scollo, M., Banks, E., Chapman, J., Dey, T., Abdul Halim, S., Makate, M., McEntee, A., Mukhtar, A., Norman, R., Pidd, K., Roche, A. and Allsop, S. (2019). Identifying the Social Costs of Tobacco Use to Australia in 2015/16. National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. ISBN: 978-0-9942806-9-5 [T273] Download PDF