Shielding young people from smoking

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that developing countries account for 75 per cent of global deaths from tobacco smoking. The World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is marked every year on May 31. The global health agency and public health champions from across the globe used this occasion to raise awareness about the harmful influences of the tobacco industry on the youth.

The theme of this year’s WNTD is ‘Protecting children from tobacco industry interference.’ The theme also calls for an end to targeting of youth with harmful tobacco products. According to WHO, “this discourse provides a platform for young people, policy-makers and tobacco control advocates globally to discuss the issue and to urge governments to adopt policies that shield young people from the manipulative practices of the tobacco and related industries.”

“Although cigarette smoking has decreased over the years due to phenomenal efforts by the tobacco control community, more must be done to safeguard these vulnerable groups,” WHO stated. Available information shows that at least 37 million young people aged 13-15 years use some form of tobacco. In the WHO European Region, 11.5 per cent of boys and 10.1 per cent of girls aged 13-15 years are tobacco users.

Unfortunately, electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches are gaining popularity among the youth. Not less than 12.5 per cent of adolescents in the European Region used e-cigarettes in 2022 compared to two per cent of adults. Similarly, in some countries of the region, the rates of e-cigarette use among school children are two to three times higher than the rates of cigarette smoking.

Key facts on global tobacco use show that tobacco kills up to half of its users who don’t quit. Tobacco also kills more than eight million people each year, including an estimated 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke. About 80 per cent of the world’s 1.3 million tobacco users live in low-and middle-income countries. In 2022, 22.3 per cent of the world’s population used tobacco: 36.7 per cent of men and 7.8 per cent of women.

Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of death in the world. The tobacco epidemic is regarded as one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing over eight million people a year around the world. More than seven million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.3 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

Experts are of the view that all forms of tobacco use are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. They point out that cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Other tobacco products include waterpipe tobacco, cigars, cigarillos, heated tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, bidis and kreteks, and smokeless tobacco products.

While smoking is prohibited in public places in Nigeria, the rate of smoking among young people is apparently on the increase. The rate of smoking in Nigeria in 2022 was 3.7 percent, a 0.2 per cent decline from 2019. Nigeria smoking rate for 2019 was 3.9 per cent, a 0 per cent increase from 2018.  According to a 2020 study, 5.6 per cent or 4.7 million Nigerian adults currently use a tobacco product and 3.9 per cent or 3.1 million adults are current tobacco smokers.

About 25,000 children in Nigeria aged10-14 years smoke cigarettes each day. In a country with poor statistical culture, the number of young smokers might have been underestimated. The major causes of smoking in Nigeria include peer smoking, parental smoking, media advertisement, male gender, increasing age, low parental education and family conditions.

Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to develop heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. Estimates show that smoking increases the risk for coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times, for stroke by 2 to 4 times. It increases lung cancer in men by 25 times and lung cancer in women by 25.7 times.

The federal, state and local governments must be in the forefront of the fight to shield young Nigerians from smoking before it assumes an epidemic proportion. They should embark on enlightenment campaigns underscoring the dangers of tobacco use. At the same time, tobacco companies should be made to stop luring young people to imbibe the smoking culture. The film industry should also stop glamorising smoking. Promoting smoking through advertisements and other channels should be checked forthwith.