Remember when people smoked on planes? Back then, avoiding contact with smokers was almost impossible.

Sport attracted the sponsorship of the big tobacco companies and it was not unusual to see our sporting heroes puffing on a smoke. Wallaby great Stan Pilecki is often remembered for his half time smoke breaks. But that all changed in 1992 when tobacco advertising was banned from most sporting events and phased out by 1996.

By 2010 posters, signage and billboards all across the Sunshine State warned us that No One Smokes Here Anymore. If you did, you were likely to cop a fine.

Now, across much of the world, the social norm has shifted and smoking is recognised for the dangerous habit that it is.

However, while Queensland’s adult smoking rates have significantly reduced, the state still has the second highest smoking rate in the country.

“Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Queensland,’’ Louise Cadden, a My Health for Life coach says.

Louise, who has had a lot of experience counselling people who smoke cigarettes, adds: “It might not be the problem it used to be, but we still need to encourage more people to quit.’’

Aside from the person cost, the Smoking in Queensland Regulatory Impact Assessment estimates the total cost to the Queensland community to be $27 billion a year. As for the cost to the wallet, a packet now retails for about $40 – for a packet a day habit, this equates to more than $14,000 a year. 

So, what about the benefits of giving up? Louise says the body is an amazing instrument and the repair process starts almost immediately. Queensland Health cites these benefits.