Australia’s Smokers Defy Stereotypes: Majority Employed, Educated

Most daily smokers are employed and in good physical and mental health, with over two-thirds having completed year 12.

A woman smokes a cigarette June 30, 2003 in Paris, France. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Quit-smoking material must step up to better reflect Australia’s 2.5 million daily smokers because, contrary to common belief, they’re not all unemployed or less educated, according to new research.

A first-of-its-kind national study, “Who Smokes In Australia?” published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Feb. 18, shatters the stereotype of smokers as mainly disadvantaged, Indigenous, or with poor mental health, revealing the widespread impact of smoking across the entire community.