Going smokefree

With only a couple of months to go before Victorian pubs become smokefree, the Cancer Council Victoria have released data showing overwhelming community
support for the move.

• The data reveals more than 8 out of 10 Victorians support total smoking bans in bars and pubs.
  
• The figures show that of around 3,000 Victorian adults surveyed in 2006: 86% supported smoking bans in bars - up from 77% the year before.
• Support teas the strongest among those who were never smokers (94%) and former smokers (87%).
• 61% of smokers approved of banning smoking in bars and pubs.

Cancer facts

• 1 in three men and one in four women will develop cancer by the age of 75.
• Cancer is the leading cause of death in Australia claiming more than 36,000 people each year.
• More than half of cancers diagnosed will be successfully treated.
• The survival rate for many common cancers has increased by more than 30 per cent in the past two decades.
• Cancer costs $2.7 billion in direct health system costs (5.7% of total healthcare expenditure).
• $215 million was spent on cancer research in 2000 - 01, just over 18% of all health research expenditure in Australia.