By Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific
Did you smoke when you were 13? I did, and so did many of my friends. In those days, it was second nature for youngsters to smoke. Boys did it because they thought it made them look and feel more like men: distinguished, respected, feared. For girls; it showed they were fun loving and grown up.
Years later, as I began to understand the hazards of smoking, I quit – cold turkey. Now, some 20 years on, I have noticed that a number of my friends who carried on smoking are suffering from cancer or heart disease. I can’t help wondering if I should have done more to persuade them to quit.
It has been a long time and I would like to think things have changed. But they haven’t.
Recent figures from Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) from 2000 to 2007 in the Western Pacific Region estimate that of children aged 13 to 15, an average of 13.4% smoke (18.5% of boys and 8.4% of girls). The rough average for this age group in the whole of Asia is one out of five boys and one out of six girls. In Papua New Guinea, it is one out of two boys and in the Cook Islands it is one out of two girls. In the Philippines, one out of four boys smokes cigarettes. And one out of three boys smokes cigarettes in Malaysia, the Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu.
Today, I stopped to think about why I started smoking at such an early age. Yes, someone gave me a cigarette. And, yes, I wanted to be accepted by my peers. But the reason I kept on smoking was the image in my head that came from billboards, television and radio. At that young age, I didn't really know what I wanted in life, but I knew for sure that I wanted to be like those people in the advertisements.
The tobacco industry is still using the same pernicious techniques. Then as now, it targets youth in fun and familiar environments – the movies, fashion events, music concerts and sports. Lately, the Internet has been the sea where this marketing net has been cast. It is easy to enter websites that advertise, promote and sell tobacco to minors. Some websites even have click buttons that lead to a page with a lame warning embedded in alluring visuals that encourage further exploration of the site.
Today the industry's marketing net targets half a billion children and youths aged 6‑23 in the Western Pacific Region. The GYTS also show that approximately 55% have seen pro‑tobacco advertising on billboards and almost 70% have seen it in newspapers and magazines. Some 12.7% own an object that has a cigarette brand logo. Cigarettes are now manufactured in peach, green melon, lime, lemon, coconut, cappuccino, strawberry and chocolate flavours. They are also labelled as "lite", "mild" and "low tar" to deceive youngsters into thinking that the product is not harmful. One in two young people say they are not refused purchase because of their age when buying cigarettes in a store. In many countries, they don’t even need to go to a store. They can buy a cigarette stick on the street at any time of the day.
Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It is the only legal consumer product that kills one third to one half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, with its victims dying on average 15 years prematurely.
According to the World Bank, the overall annual cost of healthcare that may be attributed to smoking in high‑income countries is estimated to be between 6% and 15% of total health care costs. This is slightly lower in low- and middle‑income countries as the tobacco epidemic is at earlier stages. However, these countries are likely to see their annual smoking-related costs rise in the future. It is estimated that health care costs and productivity losses amounted to USD 5 million in China in 2000, USD 327 million in Viet Nam in 2005, USD 442 million in Bangladesh in 2003 and USD 2.8 million in the Philippines in 2003.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is designed to curb this epidemic and to protect young people from the diseases that smoking brings. In Asia and the Pacific, countries are working hard to control a scourge that claims two lives every minute. But a lot of work remains to be done.
Under the terms of the FCTC, signatory governments undertake to curb the kind of inducements that first drew me into tobacco use. These commitments are reflected in the slogan for World No Tobacco Day, on 31 May, which calls on governments to “break the tobacco marketing net” and ban the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.
Special attention is given this year to young people. And this is where surveillance evidence shows a ray of hope. Half of young people surveyed say they have been taught about the dangers of smoking. About 80% of 13-15 year-olds who smoke want to stop. And 80% of young people favour a ban on smoking in public places.
The tobacco industry’s tactics may not have changed since I was 13. But years of tobacco control advocacy have resulted in less acceptance of smoking as a norm and higher levels of awareness of the hazards of tobacco use. Youngsters are still after the fun and the excitement of not knowing what lies ahead. They still burn with a desire to shape their own lives and determine their own futures. But they know that smoking cigarettes is no longer part of that future.
All we need to do now is to help make it happen for them.
Did you smoke when you were 13? I did, and so did many of my friends. In those days, it was second nature for youngsters to smoke. Boys did it because they thought it made them look and feel more like men: distinguished, respected, feared. For girls; it showed they were fun loving and grown up.
Years later, as I began to understand the hazards of smoking, I quit – cold turkey. Now, some 20 years on, I have noticed that a number of my friends who carried on smoking are suffering from cancer or heart disease. I can’t help wondering if I should have done more to persuade them to quit.
It has been a long time and I would like to think things have changed. But they haven’t.
Recent figures from Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) from 2000 to 2007 in the Western Pacific Region estimate that of children aged 13 to 15, an average of 13.4% smoke (18.5% of boys and 8.4% of girls). The rough average for this age group in the whole of Asia is one out of five boys and one out of six girls. In Papua New Guinea, it is one out of two boys and in the Cook Islands it is one out of two girls. In the Philippines, one out of four boys smokes cigarettes. And one out of three boys smokes cigarettes in Malaysia, the Federated States of Micronesia and Tuvalu.
Today, I stopped to think about why I started smoking at such an early age. Yes, someone gave me a cigarette. And, yes, I wanted to be accepted by my peers. But the reason I kept on smoking was the image in my head that came from billboards, television and radio. At that young age, I didn't really know what I wanted in life, but I knew for sure that I wanted to be like those people in the advertisements.
The tobacco industry is still using the same pernicious techniques. Then as now, it targets youth in fun and familiar environments – the movies, fashion events, music concerts and sports. Lately, the Internet has been the sea where this marketing net has been cast. It is easy to enter websites that advertise, promote and sell tobacco to minors. Some websites even have click buttons that lead to a page with a lame warning embedded in alluring visuals that encourage further exploration of the site.
Today the industry's marketing net targets half a billion children and youths aged 6‑23 in the Western Pacific Region. The GYTS also show that approximately 55% have seen pro‑tobacco advertising on billboards and almost 70% have seen it in newspapers and magazines. Some 12.7% own an object that has a cigarette brand logo. Cigarettes are now manufactured in peach, green melon, lime, lemon, coconut, cappuccino, strawberry and chocolate flavours. They are also labelled as "lite", "mild" and "low tar" to deceive youngsters into thinking that the product is not harmful. One in two young people say they are not refused purchase because of their age when buying cigarettes in a store. In many countries, they don’t even need to go to a store. They can buy a cigarette stick on the street at any time of the day.
Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. It is the only legal consumer product that kills one third to one half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, with its victims dying on average 15 years prematurely.
According to the World Bank, the overall annual cost of healthcare that may be attributed to smoking in high‑income countries is estimated to be between 6% and 15% of total health care costs. This is slightly lower in low- and middle‑income countries as the tobacco epidemic is at earlier stages. However, these countries are likely to see their annual smoking-related costs rise in the future. It is estimated that health care costs and productivity losses amounted to USD 5 million in China in 2000, USD 327 million in Viet Nam in 2005, USD 442 million in Bangladesh in 2003 and USD 2.8 million in the Philippines in 2003.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is designed to curb this epidemic and to protect young people from the diseases that smoking brings. In Asia and the Pacific, countries are working hard to control a scourge that claims two lives every minute. But a lot of work remains to be done.
Under the terms of the FCTC, signatory governments undertake to curb the kind of inducements that first drew me into tobacco use. These commitments are reflected in the slogan for World No Tobacco Day, on 31 May, which calls on governments to “break the tobacco marketing net” and ban the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.
Special attention is given this year to young people. And this is where surveillance evidence shows a ray of hope. Half of young people surveyed say they have been taught about the dangers of smoking. About 80% of 13-15 year-olds who smoke want to stop. And 80% of young people favour a ban on smoking in public places.
The tobacco industry’s tactics may not have changed since I was 13. But years of tobacco control advocacy have resulted in less acceptance of smoking as a norm and higher levels of awareness of the hazards of tobacco use. Youngsters are still after the fun and the excitement of not knowing what lies ahead. They still burn with a desire to shape their own lives and determine their own futures. But they know that smoking cigarettes is no longer part of that future.
All we need to do now is to help make it happen for them.
