Smoking killing one-in-three First Nations people

Dr Katie Thurber: 'No amount of smoking is safe.'   - Smoking causes 50 per cent of deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 45 years and over, and 37 per cent of deaths at any age, according to a new study from The Australian National University (ANU). The study analysed data from 1,388 people followed over 10 years, starting in 2006.  "The results are shocking - smoking is killing one in two older adults, and we found smokers have four times the risk of early death compared to those who have never smoked," study lead Dr Katie Thurber said.   "This is the first time we have had data specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our findings show that we have underestimated the impact of smoking. It causes nearly double the deaths that we previously thought. "We followed participants for 10 years and examined the risk of death for people who had never smoked, and past and current smokers.  "The results show the more cigarettes you smoke, the higher your risk of death.    "Even smoking between one to 14 cigarettes per day triples your risk of early death compared to never smoking. No amount of smoking is safe."  Study co-author Associate Professor Raymond Lovett said: "We found Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who never smoke live an extra 10 years, compared to those who smoke.