Smoking

For East Metropolitan Health Service, getting our community to quit smoking is one of our biggest priorities, because smoking still causes the greatest amount of drug related harm. While smoking rates are declining in the general population, some populations such as the Aboriginal population smoke at over four times the rate of the whole Western Australian population.

In 2015, 9 per cent of the WA population aged 18 years and over were daily smokers, down from 17 per cent in 2002. 40 per cent of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over in WA were daily smokers in 2012–13.

Projects

Supporting patients to be smoke free

This pilot project provides support to hospital inpatients who smoke, to manage their nicotine dependence and/or to promote quit smoking attempts. Smoking cessation support (brief intervention) is provided to identified smokers. On discharge documentation is provided to general practitioners to build on the actions in hospital.

The pilot project includes provision of brief intervention training for medical and nursing staff and promotes awareness of the smoke free policy. It is based on a successful model utilised by Victoria Health. It is currently being piloted at Armadale Health Service, Bentley Health Service and plans are in progress for a Royal Perth Hospital pilot.

Yarning It Up, Don’t Smoke It Up program

This program aims to reduce tobacco related harm in the adult Aboriginal population across the Perth Metropolitan area.

The program is culturally appropriate and designed to increase the Aboriginal communities knowledge of the harms related to smoking and the links to chronic disease. It also works to increase community member’s knowledge of culturally appropriate quit smoking services.

It includes training for service providers and pre and post evaluation. 

Extended Smoke Free areas

Creating smoke free environments protects individuals from second hand smoke, de-normalises smoking behaviour, prevents uptake from youth, supports smokers to quit, and reduces exposure to vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and children. There is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke.

This project aims to reduce exposure to second hand smoke in areas immediately outside public and community centres that are not governed by specific legislation. This compliments existing Western Australian tobacco control legislation.

Strategies include:

• Improved visibility of smoke free signage.
• Policy development and shopping centre staff training.
• Pre and post evaluation is carried out to identify changes in exposure to second-hand smoke.

Aboriginal Youth Health Program

This program is a culturally appropriate health program delivered in schools to increase Aboriginal young people’s knowledge of alcohol and tobacco related harms and the dangers of risky sexual health behaviour and associated services. It includes pre and post evaluation.

Increase the reach of the Make Smoking History Campaign

This campaign is funded by the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch (Department of Health).

EMHS Smoke Free Policy

The purpose of the policy is to reduce staff, visitors, patients and contractors exposure to second-hand smoke.

The Health Promotion team works to identify and implement strategies to increase compliance with the Smoke Free WA Health System Policy in line with the EMHS Smoke Free Policy. In addition, this project looks at monitoring, promoting and reviewing the Policy and coordinating reporting to the Department of Health.