Advocates Harp On Rescuing African Children From Addiction To Tobacco Products, Industry Interference
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By Edu Abade
Tobacco control advocates from several African countries have stressed the need to rescue children of the continent from addiction to smoking, use of other deadly tobacco products and industry interference using different tactics to lure teens and adolescents into the ‘tobacco snare of diseases and death.’
The advocates revealed that research has shown that about a third of youth experimentation with tobacco results from industry marketing and tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS), maintaining that globally, over 78 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 15 report regular exposure to some tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
They alerted parents, guardians and Africans to the fact that more recent research shows that children as young as 10 are also getting inducted into smoking due to their exposure to the internet and other factors that we will hear about today.
Executive Director, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Philip Jakpor; Executive Director of Vital Voices Africa (VVA), Caleb Ayong; Executive Director of Being Africa, Achieng Otieno; Mohammed Maikuri of Development Gateway (DG); Oluchi Joy Robert and Communications Specialist, Centre for Primary Care Research, Lusaka, Zambia, Paxina Phiri, stated this in a Webinar to mark this year’s World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).
Speaking on the theme: Protecting Children From Tobacco Industry Interference, Jakpor stated that tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of death globally and that tobacco kills about half of its users.
He said: “By 2030, the World Health Organisation (WHO) projects that tobacco will kill over 8 million people yearly, with most of the deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries. Tobacco is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.
“The theme for this year’s WNTD aims to put pressure on national governments to implement comprehensive policies to prevent the tobacco industry from grabbing the lungs of our children as replacement smokers.”
Sharing experience of how the Tobacco Industry Addicts Children, Oluchi Robert said Nigeria, being the world’s seventh most populated country, has been recognised by major transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) as a market with enormous income potential due to its large youth population and expanding Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She explained that the tobacco industry in Nigeria targets children and young people through various tactics through products marketing, advertising product placements in movies, music videos and use of social media to reach the younger audience flavoured products and their accessibility.
In his intervention, Ayong, who restated VVA’s commitment to end the tobacco industry’s manipulative tactics and strategies in targeting youths as replacements for the 8 million people who die every year from tobacco-related causes, insisted that the tobacco industry’s tactics are cunning-targeting our youth, enticing them with flavored products and perpetuating addiction.
“But we stand against this predatory marketing. Our mission is to shield our children from the clutches of tobacco, empower them with knowledge and advocate for policies that prioritize their health.
“Tobacco remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide with at least 8 million tobacco-attributable deaths occurring every year. Nearly nine of 10 smokers start smoking before the age of 18. Nicotine addiction begins during adolescence when young brains are still developing, so the tobacco industry strategically targets youth, aiming to replace the lives lost to their deadly products.
“Also, 14 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be achieved with tobacco industry operations. And while SDG 3 promotes universal health coverage, disease prevention and mental health promotion, tobacco use directly contradicts these goals, causing diseases like cancer, heart ailments and respiratory disorders. Tobacco infringes upon children’s basic rights to health and welfare, while child labour in tobacco production persists in most parts of Africa,” he stated.
In his presentation on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and Children’s Rights, Otieno, who cited statistics from the WHO, said tobacco use is the biggest threat to public health and is responsible for over 8 million preventable deaths worldwide.