Demand for a key quit smoking program in Canberra has reached more than four times the number of available places, with the community drugs sector calling for more funding to help people quit.
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It comes as the price of a generic pack of 25 cigarettes is expected to today reach $30 and 50gm pouches of tobacco could hit $70 each, as part of the latest 12.5 per cent hike to the federal government's tobacco excise.
While states and territory governments get two per cent of their total revenue from the federal tobacco excise through the GST, or about $1.4 billion shared among all jurisdictions in 2014-15, that money goes to consolidated revenue in the ACT.
As the cost of cigarettes rises today, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Association ACT has called on the territory government to "ring-fence" that revenue for programs to help the most disadvantaged Canberrans quit tobacco.
Despite Canberra having the lowest average smoking rate of all jurisdictions in the country, at about 10%, rates are much higher in some areas like south Tuggeranong, west Belconnen, Hume, Wanniassa and Greenway, Dunlop and Macgregor.
Among clients of the ACT's drug and alcohol treatment services, smoking rates are closer to 82 per cent and upwards of 35 per cent of Canberrans with mental health or homelessness issues also smoke.
ATODA executive director Carrie Fowlie said that while some 80 per cent of smokers wanted to quit, for most a successful attempt meant they need counselling and support, as well as access to expensive drugs that are not subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
She said that given all governments received growing revenue from the ever-increasing tobacco excise, in the ACT that money should be "ring-fenced" and reinvest the case in tobacco control programs.
Ms Fowlie said the ACT had a successful WeCAN program, which helps clients accessing drug and alcohol treatment services to quit smoking at the same time.
But she said the success of the program, which can only treat 100 clients a year, had brought with it demand about "four times the available resources", urging the government to put an extra $100,000 to expand it.
"Given the amount of tobacco related revenue the ACT receives, it's a reasonable expectation that people who want to quit should be able to and have that support," she said.
"We've got the infrastructure and the program in place, but we need a top up and we believe it would lead to more successful quit attempts."
Questions put to the government about the program and how it allocates tobacco-related revenue were not answered by deadline on Wednesday.
