Teen anti-smoke ads dumped

WA's teenage anti-smoking campaign is being scrapped after almost 20 years because health experts say the money would be better spent targeting illicit drug and alcohol use.

Healthway, which has given the Heart Foundation-run Smarter than Smoking campaign $9.5 million since 1995, said though the program had been highly successful, it was time to reassess where the money was spent.

It planned to put more resources into the Drug Aware campaign, which is sponsoring this week's Margaret River Pro surfing event, so that more messages about the harm from alcohol and drugs such as amphetamines could target 12 to 24-year-olds.

The agency was winding up funding for Smarter than Smoking, aimed at 10 to 17-year-olds, because the social environment had changed and weekly smoking rates in 12 to 17-year-olds had fallen from 17 per cent in 1993 to 5 per cent by 2011.

Chairwoman Rosanna Capolingua said though more work was needed to further reduce teenage smoking, public concern about the use of drugs and alcohol was widening.

"The community has priorities, and we've got limited funding, and while we're not taking our eye off the ball with smoking, in general we think shifting more focus to getting out the Drug Aware message is a priority now," she said. "Alcohol and drugs are major concerns, particularly for kids going into teenage years when they are under a lot of peer pressure.

"The environment kids live in now is predominantly non-smoking, which is great progress, but when it comes to drugs there is a very strong subculture of drugs, with recreational drug use, eckies and marijuana, and that's the culture we need to bust."

Drug and Alcohol Office acting executive director Gary Kirby said recent data showing rising drug use showed the need to support Drug Aware activity.

In 2011, 18.4 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds reported using at least one illicit drug in the past year, compared with 16.2 per cent in 2007.

"Events like the Drug Aware Pro are a great way to reach a young audience, and we tend to see an increase in website traffic around the time of this event each year," Mr Kirby said.