ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

Newslines Radio: Tobacco action workers – part two

25 April 2013
Safety and Wellbeing

This Newslines Radio program looks at the great work that tobacco action workers are doing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities all around the country.

This Newslines Radio program looks at the great work that tobacco action workers are doing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities all around the country.

Funded by the Australian Government, these health professionals work closely with communities to help Indigenous people give up smoking or not take it up at all.

Carly Cooke from the Nhulundu Health Service in Gladstone in Queensland told Newslines about the importance of community consultation in their work.

“I think it’s the key. It’s the most important because it’s our people that are dying early from tobacco related diseases, so it’s quite important that we are out there talking with community to help them to quit or keep the kids away from taking it up,” she said.

Find out more

The Australian Government is funding the rollout of a national network of regional tobacco coordinators and tobacco action workers to work with Indigenous communities to reduce the number of people smoking. This workforce will implement a range of community-based smoking prevention and cessation support activities tailored to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.