A new anti-smoking campaign directed at the Vietnamese community has been launched by a local council in the outer western suburbs of Sydney.

The Fairfield local government which includes Cabramatta, launched the project called “Bỏ Thuốc Sống Khỏe – Quit & Fit” on World No Tobacco Day on Thursday, to help increase quitting rates and reduce smoking related harm in the area.

Statistics show that the Vietnamese community in New South Wales has one of the highest rates of smoking compared to other culturally and linguistically diverse groups.

Vietnamese men are the main targets of the new campaign.

The Cancer Institute NSW reports have found that 32 per cent of Vietnamese men are smokers. That’s almost triple that over the overall NSW population.

The Quit & Fit campaign includes public education sessions on health and wellbeing and the risks of tobacco.