Background on the National Tobacco Youth Campaign

The Australian Government is investing $25 million over four years in a new national tobacco campaign activity to address youth smoking rates.

This initiative has been implemented in two main stages. The first stage, the Health Warnings Campaign, was launched on 14 February 2006 to raise awareness of a new system of graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging. The second stage of the National Tobacco Youth Campaign, aims to specifically have an impact on smoking rates among youth.

Tobacco smoking is the single largest preventable cause of premature death and disease in Australia. While smoking prevalence in Australia has declined over time, more than three million Australians still smoke daily (17.4% of all those aged 14 or older). Continued effort is therefore necessary to maintain the decline and reduce the social and economic costs of tobacco use to the community.

The National Tobacco Youth Campaign is a national campaign that aims to contribute to a reduction in the uptake and prevalence of smoking among young Australians.

The key messages will encourage:

  • The primary target audience (young people aged 12-24 years) ‘to reject smoking’
  • The secondary target audience (smoker parents) ‘to quit smoking in order to discourage your children from smoking’.
More information on youth smoking rates can be found at:

Page currency, Latest update: 18 December, 2006