The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Successes seen in the broader tobacco control area in Australia over the last 20 years have not been reflected in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Smoking prevalence remains at 50% for Indigenous Australians and there has been no reduction in this rate for the past 15 years. Clearly mainstream health promotion messages, resources and programs aimed at prevention and cessation for example are not penetrating Australian Indigenous communities and are therefore having little or no effect.

The national Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control (CEITC) was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing in September 2003 for a period of 3 years to conduct research, initiate culturally appropriate national programs and to advocate for tobacco control initiatives in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous arenas. Any advocacy, research or program delivery initiatives must be culturally sensitive and based in reality to gain acceptance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This presentation will discuss the role of tobacco in the lives of Australia's Indigenous communities and the devastating effect it has had on our people both past and present.