Smoking killing one-in-three First Nations people
25 January 2021 The earlier you quit, the better.
Smoking causes 50 per cent of deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 45 years and over, and 37 per cent of deaths at any age, according to a new study from The Australian National University (ANU).
The study analysed data from 1,388 people followed over 10 years, starting in 2006. The results are shocking - smoking is killing one in two older adults, and we found smokers have four times the risk of early death compared to those who have never smoked, study lead Dr Katie Thurber said. This is the first time we have had data specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our findings show that we have underestimated the impact of smoking. It causes nearly double the deaths that we previously thought.
The study found that about 37 per cent of deaths were caused by smoking. Photo: Lannon Harley, ANU
MORE than one third of deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were caused by smoking, according to a new ANU study released today (January 25).
Starting in 2006, the study analysed 1388 people of all ages including those who had never smoked, as well as past and present smokers, and found that about 37 per cent of deaths were caused by smoking.
That number rises to 50 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 45 years and older.
Study lead Dr Katie Thurber says the results were shocking and show smoking causes nearly double the number of deaths than previously thought.
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As many as half of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 45 are dying from smoking-related illness, a new study has found, as experts concede it is a bigger problem than previously thought.
About 37 per cent of all deaths among the Indigenous Australian population are caused by smoking, according to the study, which was led by researchers at the Australian National University.
The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on Monday, is the first of its kind to provide data specific to the Indigenous population.
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Researchers followed 1,388 people - including past and current smokers and those who had never smoked - over 10 years and tracked their health outcomes.
Smoking-related illnesses cause half of all deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the age of 45, accounting for 10,000 premature preventable deaths in the past decade alone, a new study has found. On average, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoked died 10 years earlier than non-smokers. The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on Monday, is the first population-specific study to.