Smoko No Longer Aussie Style

'Smoko' is Australian slang for a short work-break. The origin is unknown but probably relates to manual workers using both hands actively while working in a world of roll-your own cigarettes. In the office world up to the 1980's it was custom to smoke at the desk and 'smoko' was replaced by 'morning/aftenoon tea' and later 'coffee break'.

'Smoko' looks like fading out even more now with Australia shown to be the lowest smoking rate country of 30 that comprise the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), according to a report released last week by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The proportion of the Australian population aged 14 and over who smoked daily fell from 19.5% to 17.4% between 2001 and 2004. High smoking OECD nations were the Netherlands, Hungary, Korea and Japan, all with rates of over 30%. Australian rates were also considerably lower than those for the UK (27%) and New Zealand (25%). Men were more likely to smoke daily than women; but not for the 14-19 years age group, where 12% of girls were daily smokers compared with 10% of boys.

The report is titled ?Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2004? and can be found at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10143

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