Smoking-related deaths among Indigenous Australians are likely to continue to rise over the next decade, despite big reductions in smoking rates, a new study led by the Australian National University has found.
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The researchers say it shows the need to continue successful grassroots efforts to cut smoking rates within indigenous communities.
They said more robust data was needed to make sure regional areas were able to monitor trends at a local level.
Lead researcher Dr Ray Lovett, from the ANU Research School of Population Health, said the study found the lag between smoking and the onset of smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer meant smoking deaths were likely to rise.
"We have seen significant declines in smoking among Indigenous Australian adults over the past two decades that will bring major health benefits over time," Dr Lovett said.
"But we're seeing tobacco's lethal legacy from when smoking prevalence was at its peak.
"On the positive side, we've seen a 43 per cent reduction in cardiovascular disease deaths, mainly from heart attacks, over the past 20 years among Indigenous people, in large part due to people quitting smoking."
Dr Lovett said the research showed communities and governments needed to redouble efforts to get people to quit.
"It also tells us that people should be vigilant if they do notice changes around their health," he said.
"Particularly when we know [Indigenous Australians] are diagnosed much later so recognising signs and symptoms is really important
Smoking rates among Indigenous Australians have dropped from more than half the population in 1994 to two in five adults today. This is still two and a half times higher than the rest of the Australian population.
Dr Lovett said the substantial progress in reducing smoking rates, particularly in the past decade, was a clear sign that further reductions and improvements to Indigenous health could be achieved.
Co-researcher Dr Katie Thurber said the team analysed the available national health and death data from the past 20 years to conduct the study.
"The available data do not provide the full picture of smoking and its impacts for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, so it's important to understand these limitations and work towards improving data in the future," she said.
"Despite these challenges, we've managed to produce the first comprehensive assessment of the tobacco epidemic among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians."
The research paper is published in the Public Health Research & Practice journal.
