By Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia
In 1987, Member States of the World Health Organization designated 31 May as World No Tobacco Day. This was done to draw attention to the global tobacco epidemic, and the preventable death and disease it causes.
Every year, this day
reminds us of the dangers of tobacco, and informs us about what our
Organization is doing to fight this epidemic. It informs people around the
world about what they can do to claim their right to health, and how to protect
future generations. It also shines a light on the business practices of tobacco
companies.
This year, World No
Tobacco Day calls on us all to protect children from the interference of the
tobacco industry. Young people across the world are calling for the tobacco
industry to stop targeting them with products that are harmful to their health.
They are calling on governments to adopt policies to protect them from the
manipulative practices of tobacco and related industries. This includes the
relentless marketing of their dangerous products through social media and
streaming platforms.
The fight against
tobacco is particularly important for us in South-East Asia. The tobacco
industry’s targeting of youth is rampant across our Member States. As a result,
we have a very worrying 11 million adolescents using various tobacco products.
Coupled with the approximate 411 million adult tobacco users, our Region,
unfortunately, has the highest number of adolescent and adult users globally.
The industry lures
youth by aggressively introducing new nicotine and tobacco products such as electronic
cigarettes and heated tobacco products. These are becoming increasingly popular
with the youth in our Region. It is worrying that children and adolescents are
regularly exposed to the digital marketing of tobacco products. This is despite
having policies and regulations in place to prevent this.
This situation is
likely to get worse, as youngsters spend more time on
social media and other similar platforms. Personalized and targeted advertising
by the industry appears to dominate here, exposing them to harm. This
multibillion-dollar industry recruits ‘new’ users to reward their investors
with even more profits. To achieve this, it preys on children and adolescents
through marketing tactics, targeting them with new products. The tobacco
industry moves with speed to launch new products, using every means to expand
market share before regulations can catch up.
They
continue to oppose evidence-based measures, such as increases in excise taxes,
and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships.
They even threaten legal action against governments that try to protect the
health of their citizens. Unfortunately, the response from governments and
institutions is lagging. Our efforts are complicated by the rapid changes in
the marketing strategies of the tobacco industry.
It is imperative that
the relevant provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO
FCTC) – including Article 5.3 – are implemented in letter and spirit. Also,
tools and support are urgently needed to facilitate monitoring and
implementation of the WHO FCTC recommendations in ‘online’ settings.
Our goal for our youth
is clear. We want to prevent and reduce tobacco consumption, nicotine
addiction, and exposure to new tobacco products. To do this, we need a
multistakeholder approach to frame and implement legislation, policies,
regulations and administrative measures. This approach needs to cast a wide
net. We should engage with all relevant government departments, UN and
intergovernmental organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia,
and the community, including students, teachers and parents.
A generational tobacco
ban, leading to a ‘Tobacco-Free Generation’, would be a huge step forward for
our Region. For this to happen, the WHO FCTC must be recognized as
a legally binding international instrument by all our Member States. This ban
will require effective enforcement of existing policies, including confronting
tobacco industry interference and institutional corruption surrounding the
illicit tobacco trade. The governments and tobacco control advocates in the
Region must proactively take an evidence-based stance that pre-empts biased
arguments against progressive tobacco control measures.
The opportunity to pass
a generational ban must be supported with political will, clear foresight and
pragmatic implementation. Only then can we realize the goal of a ‘Tobacco-Free
Generation’ across our Region in the very near future.
We owe our youth nothing less.