A nearly unchanged smoking rate in a growing population has increased the number of smokers despite some of the world’s stiffest cigarette duties and packaging restrictions, The Australian reported.

An analysis of the latest triennial study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows the number of smokers rose by 21,100 between 2013 and 2016 after dropping 317,000 in 2010-2013, the newspaper said. It was the first time the survey has not shown a significant decline in the number of smokers, according to Dr Colin Mendelsohn, a public health expert at the University of New South Wales cited by The Australian.
A 0.5 percentage point drop to 12.8 per cent in the 2016 adult smoking rate is statistically insignificant and the rising number of smokers shows high tobacco taxes and uniform packaging for tobacco products has not produced the desired results in Australia, Mendelsohn was cited as saying.