Starting to smoke: Experiences of Indigenous youth

The aim of the ‘Starting to Smoke’ project was to explore the determinants of smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people with a particular emphasis on the social and cultural processes that underlie tobacco use patterns among this group. The research found that:

  • Family and peer influence play a central role in smoking initiation among Indigenous youth.
  • Social influences to smoke are similar between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth but are more pervasive (especially in the family domain) among Indigenous youth.
  • While Indigenous youth report high levels of exposure to smoking role models and smoking socialisation practices among their family and social networks, this study provides some encouraging evidence of a progressive denormalisation of smoking among some Indigenous youth.
  • Future initiatives aimed at preventing smoking uptake in this population need to focus on changing social normative beliefs around smoking, both at a population level and within young peoples’ immediate social environment. Such interventions could be effectively delivered in both the school and family environments.
  • Measures to continue to denormalise smoking and to support families to provide clear anti-smoking socialisation messages to youth should contribute to reducing smoking uptake in this population.
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We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land across Australia and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

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