For decades, the tobacco industry has deliberately employed strategic, aggressive and well-resourced tactics to attract youth to tobacco and nicotine products. Tobacco causes 8 million deaths worldwide. In Bangladesh alone, tobacco-related illness claims 126,000 lives a year.
For tobacco companies, it means the loss of a huge number of 'loyal' consumers. To fill the vacuum left by now-deceased consumers, tobacco companies employ systematic, aggressive and sustained tactics targeting the children, adolescents and the youth, to manipulate them into becoming new batch of customers.
To attract the teenagers and the youth and transform them into future loyal customer, tobacco companies spend US$ 900 crores a year.On the said perspective, like every year, the world is going to celebrate today (31 May) as World No Tobacco Day. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2020 is “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use”.
According to US Surgeon General Report 2014, nearly 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking by age 18. Among young people, the short-term health consequences of tobacco use include respiratory and non-respiratory effects, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use.
Cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked. Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth. Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, emotional or psychological distress.
Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. So, tobacco and nicotine addiction is not an addiction on its own; it is a gateway to other more devastating realms of addictions.
ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) says in this regard, ‘49 percent of total population of Bangladesh is youth- aged 24 y/o or below. It makes Bangladesh susceptible to the greedy prying eyes of tobacco industry who wants to expand its business and profits by hooking as many youths as possible to the deadly addiction that it sells.
The responsibility of the state here is to protect the youth at any cost. An impaired youth population, hooked on tobacco, can only become burden on society and the economy.’
Experts and health professionals have already warned that the use of tobacco increases the risk of coronavirus infection (due to frequent hand-mouth contacts) and also the risk of serious illness once infected.
During this pandemic to save lives and protect public health, and also facilitate transformation towards a tobacco-free future within 2040, the government must take strict measures to end all manipulation tactics of tobacco companies.
For that purpose, prices of all tobacco products must be increased through effective tax and price measures. The policy drafted on the basis of FCTC Article 5.3 Guidelines should be finalized and implemented as soon as possible to put an end to all interferences of tobacco companies. GHWs should be printed on tobacco packs/containers effectively as per the tobacco control law.
Also, stop all the events, sponsored and arranged by the tobacco industry in universities such as Battle of Minds. Ban promotion of tobacco products through product display at the point of sale and eliminate ‘Designated Smoking Areas’ in public places and public transports.
