u/DifferentSugar3012

According to Quit and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia managed to massively reduce smoking rates over the past couple of decades through a mix of heavy taxes, aggressive public health campaigns, restrictions on advertising, social stigma, and making cigarettes less convenient and socially acceptable overall.

Unlike smoking, however, the health and social consequences of gambling do not appear to receive the same level of public discussion despite growing evidence of harm. Gambling Help Online states that "approximately 40% of people experiencing gambling problems also suffer from depression or anxiety," while people with "gambling-related issues are also at increased risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation". In addition, the Australian Institute of Family Studies reported that "Australians lose more money to gambling per capita than any other country, averaging roughly $1,300 per adult annually, with over one-third of Australian adults gambling in a typical month as of 2018."

Given the concerning information above, I'm wondering whether a similar approach realistically work for gambling? For example, imposing much heavier taxes on gambling losses, running hard-hitting education campaigns aimed at younger people before gambling habits form, heavily restricting gambling advertising, and making it far harder for major businesses like Woolworths and Coles linked venues to profit from pokies and gambling machines.

Unfortunately, vaping has exploded among younger Australians, especially among people aged 18–24, which makes me wonder whether policymakers will repeat old mistakes in a different form like creating a "vaping problem" equivalent for gambling. With smoking, traditional cigarettes declined but vaping surged among young people anyway. If Australia cracked down hard on pokies and betting apps, would people just move toward offshore crypto casinos, illegal gambling, or some newer online form that becomes even harder to regulate? Could the same thing happen where the original problem decreases, but a replacement addiction rapidly grows among younger Australians?

Ultimately, I am interested in whether Australia’s anti-smoking success was driven primarily by policy itself, or by the broader cultural shift that made smoking socially undesirable over time. Could gambling realistically undergo that same cultural transformation in Australia?

Sources:

https://www.quit.org.au/en/fact-sheets/smoking-and-vaping-rates

https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/proportion-smokers-halves-over-last-twenty-years

https://www.gamblinghelponline.org.au/support-yourself-or-others/understanding-gambling/gambling-and-mental-health-issues?language_content_entity=en

https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/understanding-gambling-harm-and-ways-identify-those-risk