Call for smoking status to be added to death certificate

Australian researchers have shown that asking whether the deceased smoked on death certificates can lead to better targeted prevention programs.

The research published today in the Lancet, suggests that a simple yes/no question on South African death registration forms led to greater understanding of exactly who in the population was smoking.

Although smoking levels have decreased in Australia, with around 16% of the population smoking, tobacco is still one of the leading causes of preventable deaths.