Daily smoking falls to 5.6% while vaping use among 18 to 24-year-olds
Australia’s daily smoking rate has fallen to a record low of 5.6%, as the Public Health Association of Australia gave Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler its President’s Award in Geelong on 17 September 2026.
The association presented the award at the annual Australian Public Health Conference. It recognises people who have made a significant contribution to protecting and advancing public health.
Professor Caroline Miller, president of the Public Health Association of Australia, announced the award. She pointed to new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data and to Butler’s tobacco control work since he became Health Minister in 2022.
Butler worked with the states and territories to tighten vaping regulation, according to Miller. Those changes aimed to protect young people from nicotine addiction.
“We are already seeing the positive impact of these policies, with current usage among Australians 18-24 dropping significantly, from 21% in 2022–23 to 14% in 2025,” Miller said.
Smoking rates also fell in Australia’s most disadvantaged communities. The rate dropped from 18% in 2019 to 11% in 2025.
Miller described the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare as the gold standard for tracking national smoking rates. The latest figures show daily smoking at record lows.
At the conference, Miller praised Butler’s leadership while he faced what she called intense tobacco industry lobbying. She said multinational tobacco companies were pushing for a multi-billion dollar tax cut.
Miller argued that such a tax cut would mean fewer smokers quit and more children and young people start smoking. She linked that outcome to thousands more tobacco-caused deaths.
“Minister Butler has held firm on comprehensive and evidence-based tobacco control policy, which will continue to prevent tens of thousands of tobacco related deaths and disease,” Miller said.
The award also recognised Butler’s contribution to tobacco control across his wider political career. PHAA said the President’s Award goes to people who have made a significant contribution to public health.
