A lot less than you might think – and it’s getting less popular by the year. Here’s why smoking is so last year.

1. More than 90% of young people aged 12 to 17 years do not smoke regularly.
2. Smoking in young people aged 12 to 17 years has significantly decreased over time falling from 17% in 1999, to 6% in 2005.
3. 65% of young people aged 12 to 17 years have never smoked.
4. Smoking rates are much higher in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations with approximately 22% of young people aged 13 to 17 years being current smokers.
    
     *Current Smoker: Students who had smoked tobacco on at least one day in the week prior to the survey

Source: Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey 

For more information and smoking statistics check out:

• 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey
• Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues - Chapter . Trends in the prevalence of smoking
• Smoking behaviours of Australian secondary students in 2005 Report
• Just the Facts: A fact sheet about tobacco use among Indigenous Australians (PDF 610kb)
• Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control (CEITC)
• Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues - Chapter 8: Tobacco use in Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders