Australian smokers would rather light up than go home early

Nicotine addiction is apparently stronger than the appeal of a shorter work day for many Australians.

Australian treasurer Peter Costello recently said many people would rather go home an hour earlier and give up their morning and afternoon cigarette breaks.

A reporter from The Australian took to Melbourne’s streets on July 27 to gauge reactions to these comments and was hard pressed to find anyone who agreed with the treasurer.

Office worker Jan Corrigan told The Australian she is so committed to her smoke break that she only goes to the toilet once a day to maximize her smoke time.

"I always take the view that I am entitled to either one cigarette or one wee in the morning, and either one cigarette or one wee in the afternoon," she said. "So I don't wee at all during the day except at lunchtime."

The national paper reported that not one smoker its reporter approached was willing to give up smoke breaks in return for working fewer hours.

Concerns have been raised that the Australian government's controversial industrial relations reforms will not include meal breaks and public holidays in basic conditions.

Costello’s response to these concerns was that employees would gladly give up cigarette breaks and lunch hours for the chance to go home early or earn more money.

According to a June survey by recruitment firm Talent2, Australian workers think smokers should stay longer to make up for cigarette breaks.

The survey showed that 71 per cent of 1,143 people across the country think smokers waste time on the job and should work unpaid overtime to compensate.

But while smokers are getting a bad rap in that country, the proportion of Australians over 14 who smoke has fallen to 17.4 per cent from 25 per cent in 1993, due to national anti-tobacco campaigns, state restrictions on smoking in public and quarterly increases in the cost of cigarettes, according to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released on July 29.