Suburbs in Australia with high smoking rates

Suburbs on the north coast of Tasmania are some of Australia's worst localities when it comes to the number of smokers. New report by Victoria University, as experts also raise concerns about the high rates of smoking in some migrant communities.

Source: Pixabay

About 40 per cent of residents in Bridgewater and Gagebrook in Tasmania smoke, according to data from health policy thinktank the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University.

Mount Druitt in NSW came at third at 31.2 per cent smokers with the South Australian suburbs of Elizabeth, Salisbury, Elizabeth North hitting 31.1 per cent.

Areas with the lowest smoking rates were found in the northern Sydney suburbs of Gordon, Killara and Pymble, with rates as low as 6.6 per cent. 

The next door suburbs of Lindfield and Roseville ranked second best in the nation at 7.2 per cent, with nearby Epping, North Epping, Pennant Hills and Cheltenham third.

Australians with mental health conditions are more than twice as likely to be smokers as the general population, and along with location, education levels and friends also affect smoking rates.

A review of existing research by the Cancer Council Victoria reveals there is also considerable variation in smoking rates among migrant groups, with those from China, Vietnam, North Africa and the Middle East, more likely to smoke.