The Australian Government is helping more Australians to quit smoking, including those living in regional and remote areas.
Tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in Australia and the number of people who smoke tobacco daily is higher in regional areas than major cities. People in remote and very remote areas are almost 3 times more likely to smoke daily than their city counterparts.
Quitting smoking can be hard, but there is now even more support available for everyone – no matter where in Australia they live. Two in 3 people who smoke say they would like to quit, and while quitting may take a few attempts, it's never too late to try.
The government has boosted free quit support services, including:
- expanding and improving access to Quitline services nationally;
- developing an online national cessation platform, now live at quit.org.au;
- the newly redeveloped My QuitBuddy app to provide new features and support;
- updated smoking cessation resources; and
- updating clinical guidance for health practitioners.
These services help ensure everyone across Australia, from cities to regional and remote areas, can access free support to quit smoking.
The government is also delivering the 'Give Up For Good' public health campaign to raise awareness of the serious health harms caused by smoking and nicotine addiction. It is empowering people to give up smoking and vaping for good.
