Tobacco.org

Small smoking cuts 'would save 5000 lives a year'  

CUTTING smoking rates by even half the amount proposed by the federal government's Preventative Health Taskforce would save up to 5000 Australian lives a year and nearly $1 billion in health and other costs.

The first estimates of the likely savings from relatively modest health improvement goals have found that cutting smoking rates to 15 per cent -- down from 23 per cent in 2004-05 -- would also avoid 158,000 cases of tobacco-related illness.

A 15 per cent smoking rate is much higher than the 9 per cent target to be reached by 2020 suggested by the final report of the Preventative Health Taskforce published last month.

That target has been criticised in some quarters as unattainable in the short or medium term, and the report was attacked for being too draconian in advocating steep tobacco tax hikes

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