Objectives: Since June 1997, Australia has run its first nationally coordinated mass media anti-smoking campaign, with all States collaborating to offer a standard Quitline service. An overview of the Australian national Quitline service is presented as well as two studies describing (a) the relationship between television advertising and call volume and type, and (b) the quit rates of callers over time.Design: Data on extent of advertising, as measured by weekly television target audience rating points (TARPs), is compared with weekly call volume and disposition. A randomly selected sample of callers was followed up at 3 weeks, 6 months and 12 months to assess caller appraisal and quit rates.Setting: The Australian Quitline service, in the context of a nationally coordinated, major anti tobacco campaign.Results: In a one year period from June 1997, 3.6% of adult Australian smokers called the Quitline. Weekly call volume was strongly related to TARPs and increased further when an advertisement specifically promoting the Quitline was broadcast. Calls involving requests for counselling, as opposed to brief calls to request quit materials, were more likely with lower TARPs. Of the cohort who were smoking at baseline, 28% reported they had quit smoking at a one year follow up and 5% had been quit for an entire year.Conclusions: In the context of a national mass media campaign, this study illustrates that it is possible to bring together differing State based services to provide an accessible, acceptable, and effective quit smoking service.

The purpose of this study was to provide in-depth insight into men's experiences of prostate cancer, specifically: perceived stigma and self-blame, social isolation, unmet need and help-seeking. A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 20 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, and thematic analysis was undertaken. Some participants perceived a stigma associated with prostate cancer and cancer in general, which sometimes acted as a barrier to disclosure. Self-blame and internalisation of cause was not a prominent issue. Participants' descriptions of emotional distress, social isolation and anxiety demonstrated the impact of prostate cancer. Social isolation was most commonly reported as a physical consequence of treatment and/or side effects. Participants felt both support and ongoing care were limited at post-treatment. Most did not seek or receive help for emotional or psychosocial problems from a formal source due to anticipated awkwardness, autonomous coping, not burdening others, unwanted sympathy and retaining privacy. Prostate cancer can cause considerable emotional and social burden for some men, and many are unlikely to seek or receive help. Men, and their support networks, require active encouragement throughout diagnosis, treatment and follow-up to overcome barriers and access additional support, particularly for sexual, emotional and psychosocial issues.

ObjectiveTo assess public support for 10 potential policy initiatives to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption.DesignA 2014 historical data set, which employed a face-to-face survey in one Australian state (study 1), provided the basis for comparison with our 2017 nationally representative, cross-sectional, computer-assisted telephone interviewing population survey (study 2).ParticipantsStudy 1: South Australians, 15+ years (n=2732); study 2: Australians, 18+ years (n=3430).Primary outcome measures: levels of support for SSB-specific policy initiatives. For the 2017 national study (study 2), demographic characteristics, body mass index, knowledge of potential harms caused by consuming SSBs and SSB consumption were included in multivariable regression analyses.ResultsIn 2017, all 10 potential policy initiatives received majority support (60%–88% either ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ in favour). Initiatives with educative elements or focused on children received high support (>70%), with highest support observed for text warning labels on drink containers (88%) and government campaigns warning of adverse health effects (87%). Higher support was observed for SSB tax paired with using funds for obesity prevention (77%) than a stand-alone tax (60%). Support for policy initiatives was generally greater among those who believed SSB daily consumption could cause health problems in adults (4%–18% absolute difference) and/or in children (8%–26% absolute difference) and lower among SSB high consumers (7+ drinks per week; 9%–29% absolute difference). State-specific data comparison indicated increased support from 2014 to 2017 for taxation (42%vs55%; χ2=15.7, p<0.001) and graphic health warnings (52%vs68%; χ2=23.4. p<0.001).ConclusionsThere is strong public support for government action, particularly regulatory and educational interventions, to reduce SSB consumption, which appears to have increased since 2014. The findings suggest that framing policies as protecting children, presenting taxation of SSBs in conjunction with other obesity prevention initiatives and education focused on the harms associated with SSB consumption will increase support.