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Australia's National Health Survey reveals declines in smoking, excessive drinking

Xinhua, December 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian adults are continuing to ditch the cigarettes and drink less, according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday.

The well-respected National Health Survey, conducted approximately every five years, revealed that 14.5 percent of Australian adults were daily smokers during 2014-15, continuing a downward trend since the turn of the millennium.

In 2011-12, 16 percent of Australian adults were daily smokers, while in 2001, 22 percent of adults regularly lit up.

The study's coordinators surveyed 19,000 Australians to represent an accurate cross-section of the Australian community, and Louise Gates from the ABS said the results of the survey would give policymakers a snapshot of the current state of health in Australia.

"Across the board, smoking rates reflect a decrease over the last 15 years, particularly for people under 45 years," Gates said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"However, there are still around 2.6 million adult Australians who smoke daily."

Meanwhile, the issue of heavy drinking continues to decline, with 17 percent of adults drinking more than the recommended two drinks per day, down from 19 percent in 2011-12.

Men were found to drink heavily more than women, with just over a quarter of all men exceeding the recommended daily intake, while only 9 percent of women drank excessively.

Overall, 56.2 percent of Australians considered themselves to be in "excellent or very good health," while 14.8 percent declared themselves as in poor health.

Arthritis was found to be particularly prevalent, with 15.3 percent of Australian adults suffering some form of the condition, while mental conditions affect 4 million Australians or 17.5 percent.

Also revealed in the survey, the proportion of overweight Australian adults remained steady at 63 percent, despite the majority of Australians participating in "sufficient" physical activity.

"Overall, more men are overweight or obese (71 percent) than women (56 percent) and children aged 5 to 17 remain at about 27 percent," Gates said in the statement.

As part of the survey, the ABS released a video which highlighted the dangers of smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity. Endit