SSSsssssssssssmokin!

Just wanted to post this news article i was reading today before i hit the sack. I shall post about my day today.....tomorrow!

THE image of the fag-smoking, beer-swilling Aussie is well and truly dead. Australia now has the lowest rate of smoking in the industrialised world and we come 23rd in the rankings for alcohol consumption.The proportion of Australians over 14 who smoke has fallen to 17.4 per cent from 25per cent in 1993, due to national anti-tobacco campaigns, state restrictions on smoking in public and quarterly increases in the cost of cigarettes.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on drug use last year, to be released today, also shows a drop in marijuana use to its lowest level in 13 years and a significant cut in the number of people dying from heroin overdoses.
The only illicit drug gaining popularity is ecstasy, now used by 3.4 per cent of people over 14 years.
Despite its reputation as a hard-drinking nation, Australia ranks 23rd in the world for alcohol consumption.
Smoking rates are highest in The Netherlands, where 34per cent of people aged 15 and over smoke daily, followed by Hungary (33per cent) and Korea (30 per cent).
The report's author, Pricilla Dowling, said Australia had the lowest rate of smoking among OECD nations and possibly the lowest in the world.
Sarah McCormack, 22, recently joined the 26 per cent of ex-smoking Australians.
Ms McCormack gave up cigarettes seven months ago after her grandfather died of a smoking-related illness. With the $50 a week she saves, the asthma-sufferer has joined a gym and now feels she breathes easier.
But friend Holly Geiger, who has been smoking since she was 13, has no intention of quitting.
The 21-year-old said she smoked half a packet of cigarettes a day, but tried not to smoke near other people, or during work hours.
The AIHW report says pregnant and breastfeeding women are less likely to consume alcohol and illicit drugs than if they are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding, but are much less likely to give up cigarettes.
Chair of the Cancer Council's anti-tobacco committee Andrew Ellerman said pregnant women underestimated the importance of quitting on their baby's health and much more education was required.
The AIHW report shows 11 per cent of people have recently used marijuana, the most common illicit drug.
Sixteen per cent of marijuana users have been diagnosed with or treated for a mental health disorder in the past 12 months, compared with 9 per cent of non-users.
Ms Dowling said the 3 per cent overall figure for ecstasy use might not seem all that much, but ecstasy and related drugs were commonly used by 12- to 24-year-olds.
till next time, Michelle.