Thisyear’sobservanceofWorldNoTobaccoDayfocuseson“Genderandtobacco,withanemphasisonmarketingtowomen”.
Althoughfewerthan1outof10womenaresmokers,thatstilladdsuptoanestimated200millionwomenaroundtheworld.Moreover,thatnumbercouldgrow,sincethetobaccoindustryisspendingheavilyonadvertisementsthattargetwomenandassociatetobaccousewithbeautyandliberation.
AccordingtoarecentstudybytheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO),thenumberofgirlsandboyswhosmokedwasaboutequalinhalfthe151countriessurveyed.Thisfindingisevenmoreworrisomesinceyoungpeoplewhosmokearelikelytocontinueinadulthood.
Evidenceindicatesthattheprevalencerateoftobaccouseamongwomenisontheriseinsomecountries.Governmentseverywheremusttakeactiontoprotectwomenfromtobaccoadvertising,promotionandsponsorship,asstipulatedintheWHOFrameworkConventiononTobaccoControl.
TheConventionalsocallsonGovernmentstoprotectwomenfromsecond-handtobaccosmoke—especiallyincountrieswherewomenfeelpowerlesstoprotectthemselvesandtheirchildren.AsWHOdatashow,ofthe430,000adultswhodieeachyearfromsecond-handsmoke,nearlytwothirdsarewomen.
Aroundtheworld,morethan1.5millionwomendieeachyearfromtobaccouse.Mostofthesedeathsoccurinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.Withoutconcertedaction,thatnumbercouldriseto2.5millionwomenbytheyear2030.
Wemustturnbacktheglobaltobaccoepidemic.OnWorldNoTobaccoDay,IurgeallGovernmentstoaddressthispublichealththreat.Tobaccouseisnotstylishorempowering.Itisuglyanddeadly.