More butt out

A big fall in the number of smokers has Australia well on the way to a smoking rate of 10 per cent within three years, experts say.

Figures from the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey show regular smokers aged 14 and over fell from 15.1 per cent in 2010 to 12.8 per cent last year.

Anti-smoking lobbyist Mike Daube, who heads the Australian Council on Smoking and Health, said it was the biggest progress he had seen in 40 years.

The report, by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, revealed the proportion of 18-24-year-olds who had never smoked had risen significantly in the past three years to 77 per cent.