It is often said that statistics can be interpreted differently to find answers that support particular viewpoints and the most recent survey about smoking might well fit that line of thought.

A study conducted by the Cancer Council Victoria in 2022 revealed the percentage of Victorian adults (aged 18 and over) that smoke tobacco or vape had dropped compared to four years earlier.
That period took in the COVID pandemic years but did not state whether that may have had an influence.
Another positive for the Quit lobby was that during those four years 28.4 per cent of smokers stopped smoking.
However, the overall percentage of Victorians that smoked tobacco dropped only 1.5 per cent, from 13.8 to 12.3 per cent.
The survey conducted two years ago applied its findings to each of Victoria's 79 local government areas and came up with a finding that country areas were by far the heaviest tobacco smokers.
All six local government areas in Gippsland including Baw Baw Shire, exceeded the 12.3 per cent average across the state.
Baw Baw rated at 15.6 per cent with an estimated 7025 tobacco smokers.
Another 2455 adults - about 5.5 per cent of the shire's population - used e-cigarettes (state average 6.1 per cent), but the highest percentage of vapers were generally in the metropolitan LGAs.
Across Gippsland, Latrobe City had the largest number and percentage of smokers and vapers.
Of its population, 18.2 per cent smoked tobacco products and 5.7 per cent vaped.
In other municipalities the percentages were Wellington 17.2 per cent tobacco, 5.3 per cent vaping; East Gippsland 16.0 and 4.1; Bass Coast 15.6 and 5.5; and South Gippsland 15.3 and 4.2.
The Cancer Council said the greater prevalence of smoking in regional and rural areas was probably due to socio-economic and cultural factors that make starting smoking easier and staying quit more difficult.
In contrast, the higher vaping rates in metropolitan areas could be due to the greater presence of a younger demographic, targeted by vaping influencers.