Underage smoking is increasing Australia-wide. Evidence supports that data collected from the Centre for Behavioural Research indicates in 1990, 15 percent of teenagers from the age of 12 - 15 were underage smokers which increased to 17 percent in 1994. This is appalling!'

A recent study in the journal "Tobacco Control" has shown the influence celebrity smokers have on teens' smoking attitudes and behaviours. A recent Queensland Cancer Fund study put the number of teen smokers at 65,000, an increase of 10,000 in three years and the highest level since the first survey in 1984. The survey found 38 percent of 17 year old boys and 36 percent of 17 year old girls were smokers. This evidence strongly suggests media advertising of tobacco use by popular movie stars contribute to adolescent smoking.

Research highlights that the most common cancer is lung cancer. Research suggests that an average of 148 000 humans die from smoking related diseases. Research conducted within the USA in...