At 46, Shane Warne is among the age group that saw the percentage of smokers increase in the past year. Credit:Ross Kinnaird Ten years ago more than one in four people between 16 and 44 smoked. In 2015 the percentage of people who smoked dropped to roughly 15 per cent. "This is no small feat. Just a few decades ago smoking was so prevalent it was allowed in our workplaces, homes, cars, buses and train," NSW health minister Jillian Skinner said. But the decline was driven by millennials and generations X and Y, as smoking rates among older generations either rose or stagnated. The fall in smoking rates was most impressive among 35-44 year-olds, dropping more than 14% from 28.9% to 14.5% since 2003, but their elders kept lighting up.

Since 2003 smoking rates have declined by 10 per cent, found the population survey, which interviewed roughly 13,000 people across the state every year. Credit:Theresa Ambrose Smoking rates hardly budged among people aged 65 and over, and rose slightly among those aged 75 and over. Older people would generally find it harder to quit after decades of smoking, given that most smokers picked up the habit as teenagers, Anita Dessaix, manager of Cancer Prevention at the Cancer Institute NSW, said. "The message particularly for old people is not to despair and keep trying and that there is hope and support and that they can quit smoking," Ms Dessaix said. Overall the statistics bore the fruits of a number of measures under the NSW Tobacco strategy launched in 2012, including the introduction of plain packaging, the expansion of smoke-free areas across the state, the increase in the price of cigarettes and ongoing public education campaigns, she said.

These strategies often proved more effective with younger adults, especially those that targeted their wallets, Ms Dessaix said. The findings come as Quitline recorded a 21 per cent boost in the number of callers the week after federal treasurer Scott Morrison announced the new tobacco excise would see a pack of cigarettes cost an estimated $41 by 2020, compared to the week before. The techie solution to lowering smoking rates, the e-cigarette, was a fraught option. A study by the Cancer Institute NSW found that while young people in NSW were taking up e-cigarettes with gusto, they weren't using them to replace tobacco. Adults under 30 were less likely than older smokers to use e-cigarettes to help them cut down or quit smoking, found the study, published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.

They used the devices because they tasted better and could be smoked in places where smoking cigarettes was banned. Ms Dessaix said there were growing concerns that e-cigarettes normalised smoking behaviour, which could lead to young users moving on to smoking tobacco. The e-cigarettes appealed to smokers, especially if they believed the vapors had no negative health effects. "People need to be aware that we don't currently know what risks they pose. Research has shown electronic cigarettes produce particulate matter and there is currently no known safe level of exposure," Ms Dessaix said.