Drug Free Australia (DFA) commends the plan to establish a National Preventive Health Agency as proposed this week, by the Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon.

DFA Chair, Craig Thompson said: “This is encouraging follow through on the work of the National Preventative Health Taskforce, the Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and the 2020 Summit. It is understandable that the initial focus will be on health promotion in areas where high rates  chronic disease are evidenced in communities across Australia, such as those caused by tobacco and obesity”.

DFA acknowledges that tobacco is still our largest preventable cause of death and disease and that if we stabilise the rise in obesity we can prevent some 500,000 deaths by 2050.

However, DFA’s Executive Officer, Jo Baxter expressed concern about the growing impact of illicit drugs on families and communities:  Australia is the still one of the highest per capita in illicit drug use rates in the OECD, according to the latest United Nations World Drug Report.

“We urge the National Preventive Health Agency to attend to this matter early, because, if left unchecked, Australia will have to deal with a ‘sleeping giant’ -  that of an unprecedented and unmanageable burden of mental and physical health issues and associated costs within the next 5 to 10 years”, said Ms Baxter.