Tobacco Control News
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Roundup – Latest Findings from the Koori Quit Pack study
March 25, 2025
Hello TIS teams! I’m back again this month for a quick update on the findings from the Koori Quit Pack study, which was led by Associate Professor Michelle Kennedy in 2022. Three exciting papers have recently been published with a focus on understanding how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke can be better supported in their quit journey. While TIS does not deliver smoking cessation support, we can still learn a lot from these papers about the value of culturally safe and acceptable quit support programs. Take home message for TIS teams Whilst TIS funding does not cover supplying…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Preventing the Use of e-Cigarettes by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth
February 24, 2025
Hello TIS teams! Just a brief update from me this month. I really had to share an important new paper from the Next Generation Youth Wellbeing Study, led by Prof Sanda Eades AO. You might recall that Prof Eades was the inaugural winner of the Tom Calma Award at the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference held in the Gold Coast last October. This award recognised the impact of her work in tobacco control, which has transformed public health in Australia. The most recent paper from this study describes several protective factors associated with not vaping among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Roundup – Looking Back on 2024
January 9, 2025
To round off the year, I wanted to share some research highlights from 2024. A consistent message this year has been about the success of community health programs developed by those who know community best – its members. Working with community members that know and trust you is vital for the TIS program, and something we know you already do. This evidence confirms the value of this as best practice for TIS. In this Research Roundup, we reflect on: Adapting Quit Campaigns for Different Populations Using Systems Thinking Youth Vaping and Smoking Vaping Regulations TIS Take-aways from Conference Conversations National…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Oceania Tobacco Control Conference 2024
November 14, 2024
Hi TIS Teams! This month, I’m excited to share a quick update about the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference, which was hosted on the lands of the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh Language Region (Gold Coast, Queensland) on the 23rd-25th October. Held every two years, this was the first get together since 2019 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s conference theme was ‘REIGNITE THE FIGHT’. This powerful conference brought together tobacco control researchers, advocates, policymakers, service providers, and community programs from Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. It was inspiring to see a strong representation of Indigenous peoples…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Latest Findings From the Generation Vape Study
October 23, 2024
This month I’d like to share the latest findings from the Generation Vape study. This research looks at changes in vaping and smoking behaviours over time among different groups, including youth and their parents. The latest findings from this study were published in June this year with a focus on the link between vaping and smoking uptake among Australian youth. While the study did include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, the numbers were small, and we need more evidence to really understand what this means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. However, it is important to know about…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Round Up – Strengthening Health Promotion to Tackle Indigenous Smoking
August 16, 2024
Hi TIS Teams! Welcome to this month’s research roundup on strengthening health promotion to tackle Indigenous smoking. I am excited to share five papers that show how using ‘systems thinking’ and prioritising community engagement can improve health equity in tobacco control. Take Home Message for TIS Teams: Health promotion programs, like TIS, are essential for improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Tobacco control is complex but using a ‘systems thinking’ approach can make a real difference. To strengthen health promotion to tackle Indigenous smoking, it is important to collaborate closely with local communities from the very…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Building Prevention Success Stories
June 25, 2024
Hi TIS Teams! I’m excited to bring you this special update, sharing the key highlights from my experience at the Public Health Association of Australia Preventive Health Conference 2024 held in Garramilla (Darwin) on Larrakia Country. The conference was attended by health professionals and other stakeholders from across Australia. A key focus of the conference was exploring the many ways we can build preventive health success. During the three-day event, I had the chance to discuss, share, and learn about the latest research, strategies, and innovations in preventative health. The conference featured inspiring keynote speakers (some of them from our…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Round Up – Messaging for Pregnant Women
May 6, 2024
For this month’s research roundup, I decided to look at recent papers describing best practice messaging to promote smoking cessation for pregnant women. Although TIS does not deliver smoking cessation, we can still learn valuable lessons about effective health promotion messaging from smoking cessation research and practice. Take Home Message for TIS Teams: Prioritising culturally sensitive approaches when designing and promoting smoking cessation resources for pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is crucial. This involves partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, engaging in dialogue during resource development, and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives.…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Findings from the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey
February 22, 2024
This month, I thought you would be interested to hear about the latest findings from the Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSAD), published in late December 2023. The survey includes questions about tobacco and e-cigarette use (vaping) as well as alcohol and other drugs. ASSAD is a national survey which is usually completed every three years by Australian secondary school students aged 12-17 years. Take Home Message for TIS Teams: The good news from this latest data is the positive downward trend in tobacco use by young people. However, the significant increase in vaping is a concern because…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence Overview – Evidence to Inform Quit Campaigns
January 25, 2024
There are different ways people can quit smoking and choosing the best method will depend on individual preferences and experiences. Learning about different ways to quit and working out which method might work best is a key part of a person’s quit journey. Whilst TIS does not fund smoking cessation support, TIS workers still need up-to-date knowledge of the support available to people wanting to quit, as this can inform population health promotion campaigns and educational activities. Click on the thumbnail to read about different approaches to smoking cessation including: quitting unaided smoking cessation medication behavioural support. The key take…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Round Up – Population Tobacco Control
November 1, 2023
Now that contracts are in place for the 2023-2026 funding period, I thought we should reflect on the value of population health promotion and its role in the fight against the harm caused by the tobacco Industry. In this research roundup, I share insights from the latest World Health Organization (WHO) report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2023 along with some recent examples of successful population health promotion activities in Australia and the USA, including: Smoke-free environments: current status and remaining challenges in Australia Impact of the ‘10,000 Lives’ program on Quitline referrals, use and outcomes by demography and Indigenous…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Round Up – Passive Vaping
August 28, 2023
Most people are aware of the harms of second- and third-hand smoke from tobacco (‘passive smoking’), but what do we know about passive vaping? This month I decided to see what the evidence says. Click on the thumbnail to read the summaries of four recent research papers that shed light on this topic, including: Passive exposure of non-smokers to e-cigarette aerosols: Sensory irritation, timing and association with volatile organic compounds Indoor air quality and passive e-cigarette aerosol exposures in vape-shops Second hand electronic cigarette aerosol in vehicles impacts indoor air quality Passive exposure to electronic cigarette aerosol in pregnancy: A…
Tackling Indigenous Smoking calendar – kids’ art competition
August 15, 2023
Update Tuesday 24 October: This competition has now closed. The major prize winner is Teyahnee K from Queensland. Congratulations Teyahnee! Love to create art? Enter this competition to be in the running to win a great prize! The Tackling Indigenous Smoking art competition is open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 12 and under. Create a design on the topic ‘Why life is better without smoking or vaping’ and submit to win. The major prize The winner’s design will feature in the Tackling Indigenous Smoking 2024 calendar, which is distributed nationally. The winner will receive: 1 x…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Roundup June 2023
June 30, 2023
Welcome to the latest Tobacco Control News – Research Roundup, presented by Connie the Clever Cockie. This month, Connie has put together a summary of three new pieces of evidence covering factors that protect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth from starting smoking, as well as those factors that increase the risk of taking up smoking; the implementation, impact and acceptability of the Quit for New Life (QFNL) program, a large-scale smoking cessation initiative for women having an Aboriginal baby; and the smoking and vaping rates for Australians aged 14 years and over from February 2018 to March 2023.…
TIS Service areas commencing 1 July 2023
May 2, 2023
The Department of Health and Aged Care has updated the TIS Interactive Map to reflect the newly announced lead organisations for the Indigenous Regions (IREGs) from 1 July 2023. To view the IREGs and the lead TIS organisations: Go to the TIS Interactive Map page of the TIS website Click on the ‘Layers list’ tool in the top left-hand corner. Scroll down the layers list and check the box next to ‘Tackling Indigenous Smoking Service Areas commencing 1 July 2023’. Uncheck all other boxes in the layers list which you do not want displayed on the map. 3. Click on…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – UK not OK: news from overseas
May 2, 2023
Welcome to the latest Tobacco Control News – Research Roundup, presented by Connie the Clever Cockie. You have probably heard the recent news from overseas that the UK Government is launching a program to encourage people who smoke to switch to vaping. Under the ‘Swap to Stop’ scheme one million people who smoke in England will be given a free vaping starter kit. This is despite increasing concerns in the UK about the number of teenagers and young people taking up vaping. The UK Government’s approach is in stark contrast to that of Australia and many other countries, where the…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Vaping Prevalence Rates
March 22, 2023
Welcome to the latest Tobacco Control News – Research Roundup on vaping prevalence rates, presented by Connie the Clever Cockie. You might not have seen me at the National TIS Workers Workshop last week, but I was listening carefully to what you all had to say, especially around the topic of vaping (e-cigarette use). It was fantastic to hear about all the amazing work you are all doing to prevent the uptake of vaping by youth in the Nation-to-Nation Café. Some of you were also keen to know more about vaping prevalence rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Social Media
February 28, 2023
Welcome to the latest Tobacco Control News – Research Roundup, presented by Connie the Clever Cockie. This month, Connie has put together a summary of the latest evidence on using social media to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. Click on the thumbnail to read the summaries of five papers, including: Mature aged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are using digital health technologies Social media and health information sharing among Australian Indigenous people Considering the impact of social media on contemporary improvement of Australian Aboriginal health: Scoping review “That makes all the difference”: Aboriginal and Torres…
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Evidence in Brief – Vaping
December 21, 2022
Just a quick update on e-cigarettes this month: in November 2022, Cochrane updated their review of the use of e-cigarettes (vaping) for smoking cessation. This review is updated regularly and looks at whether vaping for smoking cessation is: effective; safe. For more of Connie the Clever Cockie’s updates, visit the Tobacco Control News page.
Connie the Clever Cockie presents: Research Roundup on Vaping in Youth
November 11, 2022
Welcome to the first Tobacco Control News - Research Roundup, presented by Connie the Clever Cockie. This month, Connie has put together a summary of the latest evidence on Vaping in Youth. Click on the thumbnail to read the summaries of six papers, including: E-cigarette use and the relationship to smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australian Secondary Students, 2017 Vaping product access and use among 14–17-year-olds in New South Wales: a cross-sectional study School staff perceptions of the nature and consequences of students’ use of e-cigarettes Factors that influence the decision to vape among Indigenous youth…
New paper finds positive impact of Tackling Indigenous Smoking program
October 22, 2021
A paper released this month by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) has highlighted the positive impact that the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) program is having on tobacco-related behaviours and attitudes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The study found that areas of Australia where the TIS program is present, compared to non-TIS areas, have a significantly lower prevalence of: smoking inside households smoking 21 or more cigarettes a day smoking a cigarette within five minutes of waking (an indicator of nicotine dependence). The research included 8,549 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander adults aged 16 years or older.…
iSISTAQUIT: How your service can be involved
June 21, 2021
What is iSISTAQUIT? iSISTAQUIT (implement Supporting Indigenous Smokers To Assist Quitting) is designed to increase health service capacity by providing best practice training in smoking cessation to healthcare workers who have contact with pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The iSISTAQUIT training and implementation package has been updated and is ready to launch! What's new? The package has been co-developed with input from specialist Aboriginal advisors. They are now offering two options for clinical staff participation: Option 1: Evaluation package. 1. self-paced online eLearning modules for health professionals (CPD points available – conditions apply) 2. hard copy educational resources…
Smoking and Pregnancy Roundtable presentations now available
August 27, 2020
An Indigenous Smoking and Pregnancy Roundtable was held on 20 February 2020 in Canberra, ACT and was chaired by National Coordinator, Professor Tom Calma AO. The meeting brought together an invited group of academic researchers and service providers to consider current needs and future directions for addressing smoking in pregnancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers. Participants included representatives from a number of Regional Tobacco Control Grant recipient organisations. Professor Calma said that he hoped that this Roundtable would enable people to share best practice and also to recognise that it is not just people who are part of…
NBPU TIS – COVID-19 Response
March 24, 2020
Hi everyone, The global COVID-19 pandemic means that this is an uncertain and stressful time for all of us. In these circumstances, it is important to rely on evidence-based actions and on information from reliable sources. The HealthInfoNet site has some useful links. It is important that we only reference official Australian sites and information and not rely on unofficial social media information or overseas strategies as they may be inaccurate or misleading. As a population health initiative, TIS workers will no longer be able to carry out the face to face activities you had planned for the coming months. This…
Your new TIS Yarning Place has arrived. Join today!
March 17, 2020
The new Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS) Yarning Place has been officially launched. The National TIS Workers Yarning Group is a culturally-safe online community where TIS workers from across Australia can connect with their colleagues to share ideas about what’s working and what’s not, and seek advice and feedback. The group allows TIS workers to have dynamic, real-time conversations at any time and from any location. Group members will be able to share resources, keep informed about upcoming TIS events, and share photos, videos and learnings afterwards. The National TIS Workers Facebook Yarning Group is just the latest in an existing…
Bega Garnbirringu Health Service nominated for WA Young Achievers Award
June 6, 2018
Bega Garnbirringu Health Service, located in the Kalgoorlie region of Western Australia, were recently nominated for a West Australian (WA) Young Achievers Award. Bega were invited to submit their Hip Hop Project, developed as part of their Tackling Indigenous Smoking activities, as a nomination for the awards. The purpose of the Awards is to acknowledge, encourage and promote the positive achievements of all young people. While Bega were unsuccessful in winning the Award, it is a fantastic achievement to be nominated, and a testament to their hard work in tackling smoking in their region. Bega's certificate of achievement can be…
MDAS and Mildura Central combine to promote smoke free message
May 29, 2018
A partnership between Mildura Central Shopping Centre and Mallee District Aboriginal Services (MDAS) has brought about the installation of bright, new covers over the bollards delineating the smoke-free zone at the shopping centre entrances. 'We thought it was a great opportunity to take the smoke-free message to the community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous,' said Nathan Yates, MDAS Regional Coordinator for Tackling Indigenous Smoking. 'It was a fantastic gesture by Mildura Central to allow us to use the bollards, free-of-charge to install the covers and get the message to around 4,000 people a day who come into Mildura Central.' The bollards,…
