Background: To examine Australian smokers' attitudes toward increased regulation of the tobacco industry, and to compare their attitudes with those of 3 similar countries.

Method: A telephone survey of 2056 adult Australian smokers and 6166 Canadian, US, and UK smokers, conducted in 2004, as Wave 3 of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Four-Country Survey.

Results: Australian smokers display the strongest support for regulation. Only 16% believe tobacco companies should be allowed to promote cigarettes as they please, 70% agree tobacco products should be more tightly regulated, and 64% agree governments should do more to tackle the harms of smoking. Smokers see government failure to do so in cynical terms - 77% agree governments don't really care about smoking because of money from tobacco taxes. Opposition comes largely from smokers who hold self-exempting beliefs about smoking's risks and positive attitudes to smoking, who do not accept that smoking is socially denormalised, and do not hold tobacco companies responsible for harms caused by smoking. Cynicism about government motives was strongly associated with support for regulation.

Conclusions: Many Australian smokers believe the tobacco industry is partly responsible for the predicament they find themselves in, and want governments to act more strongly in their interests.

Implications: The strong relationship between support for regulation and cynicism about government inaction should stimulate government action. In Australia, where industry regulation is most advanced, support is stronger than in the other countries - smokers may become more supportive of intervention once they experience the effects.