Background on tobacco
Everything you need to know about tobacco and cigarettes is here
The infomation about tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide has been removed from most tobacco packaging. Find out what has been behind this change in tobacco package labelling.
How did the use of tobacco products come about?
What are tobacco products and what is in cigarette smoke?
Most people know that smoking is bad for health, but continue smoking. Find out about addiction in this section.
Find out how many people smoke and how many people die from smoking .
How do laws and regulations restrict the advertising, sale and use of tobacco products in Victoria?
This section is a terrific source of information for students and researchers
24 hours after quitting the level of carbon monoxide in your blood has dropped dramatically! You now have more oxygen in your bloodstream.
Starting smoking
There are a number of reasons why people begin to smoke, including having friends, family or role models that smoke, promotion of cigarettes, and using it to cope with personal problems.
Topics in depth
A range of tobacco control topics have been covered in depth in Quit's Background Briefs and Stopping Smoking Information sheets.
Laws & regulations
In Victoria, federal and state laws and regulations govern taxes, tobacco advertising, sales, packaging, littering, and public areas where people cannot smoke.
History of tobacco
Tobacco is a plant that contains the drug nicotine. It only became clear that cigarette smoking was a major cause of disease well after its use was entrenched in the community.
Addiction
Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. Most smokers are addicted to nicotine.
Smoking rates
Smoking rates among adults in Australia and Victoria have declined over the past decades. After not showing a clear trend for two decades, smoking rates for Australian and Victorian school students have recently declined.
Deaths from smoking
Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, stroke, several types of cancer, and many other health problems. Aboriginal and less wealthy socio-economic groups in Australia have higher smoking rates.
Cigarettes & tobacco
Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of over 4000 chemicals, many of which have a role in causing disease. Other tobacco products also cause disease.
Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues
This online book provides a comprehensive review of the major issues in smoking and health in Australia.
Latest research and evaluation
The Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer (CBRC) conducts research in behavioural aspects of tobacco use and evaluates Quit's programs.
20th anniversary of the Victorian Tobacco Act
The Cancer Council Victoria has recently produced a history of The Victorian Tobacco Act for its 20th anniversary.
