Daily smoking fell to 5.6% under tobacco controls
Australian tobacco controls have helped drive daily smoking down to 5.6% of people aged 14 and over, according to 2025 data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2025: Tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine insights found a 20% fall in the number of daily smokers.
Across the same age group, 68.7% of Australians reported they had never smoked at all.
The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, or TSANZ, said the figures show long-running tobacco control measures are working.
TSANZ has argued that the best way to cut the illicit tobacco market is to reduce the number of people smoking altogether.
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, both smoking and e-cigarette use fell in 2025 after rising in 2022-23.
E-cigarette use in that age group dropped from 20.6% in 2022-23 to 14% in 2025.
Smoking among 18 to 24-year-olds also fell from 9.3% in 2022-23 to 6.1% in 2025.
Illicit tobacco use rises to 34%
However, the share of smokers who had recently used illicit tobacco more than doubled to 34%.
TSANZ chief executive Vincent So said the combination of lower smoking rates and higher illicit tobacco use shows the health measures are working, but enforcement needs to improve.
“Tobacco control measures like plain packaging, support for quitting, and the tobacco excise are doing what they were designed to do and driving tobacco and e-cigarette use down,” Vincent So said.
He rejected calls to weaken tobacco controls in response to illicit tobacco sales.
According to TSANZ, stronger enforcement should include enhanced powers to suspend and close dodgy retailers, stronger retail licensing requirements and caps on tobacco retail licence numbers.
“Despite the noise, now is not the time to walk away from effective public health policies that continue to deliver for the public health and welfare of Australians,” Vincent So said.
TSANZ represents more than 1,800 respiratory health professionals across medicine, nursing, allied health and research.
The AIHW report National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2025: Tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine insights is now available online.
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