As the world mark World No Tobbaco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on youths all over the world to shun any form of adverts from tobacco industries that tends to woo them into using tobacco of any sort.
WHO Regional Director, Dr Matshidiso Moeti made this call in a Press Statement issued to Journalists in Abuja yesterday to mark World No Tobacco Day with the theme, “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference”
The theme as reliable gathered by The Communicator Newspaper, is aimed at mobilizing international efforts to shield young people from harmful tobacco and nicotine products and the deceptive strategies often used by the tobacco industry to market their products.
Highlighting the dangers associated with tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, Dr. Moeti said an estimated 1.3 million people dies from second-hand smoke every year.
“In the African Region, tobacco use among young people aged 13 to 15 years is at 11.1% for boys and 7.2% for girls, which is about 7 million tobacco users[ WHO 2023: WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000-2025 Fifth Edition].
She added that these deaths are entirely preventable adding that people exposed to second-hand tobacco smoke are at more risk of dying from heart disease, stroke, respiratory diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancers.
She called on members States in the African Region to sustain a consistent momentum in tobacco control by pushing for robust tobacco regulations, stringent controls on marketing strategies for new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products which are often designed to attract young people.
“We also know that the tobacco industry isn’t just in the business of producing, marketing, and selling tobacco products. It also spends considerable time and funds promoting misleading science, lobbying, and performing so-called corporate social responsibility activities. These tactics are meant to attract young people and to influence policies to favor its commercial interests over public health”.
She however pledged WHO determination to continue to work closely with governments to address the barriers to effective response and speed up the momentum to protect Africa’s young people from tobacco use.
‘I urge our Member States in the African Region to step up their efforts to protect young people from tobacco industry interference by ensuring governments honor and abide by their obligations under WHO FCTC Article 5.3 by introducing safeguards to protect tobacco-control policy from tobacco industry interference, counter tobacco industry tactics through evidence-based arguments and best practices with full involvement of civil society organizations, raise awareness among the public on the tactics of the tobacco industry; and expose industry efforts to target youth and attract generations of people with addiction through innovative approaches, including marketing new and emerging products and using flavours as well as encourage countries to accelerate their implementation of the WHO FCTC with stringent measures on marketing new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products, particularly designed to appeal to youth. These include shisha, e-cigarettes (flavored products), nicotine pouches, and others that are aggressively promoted through social media platforms.
“Countries should implement and enforce a 100% ban on public smoking and the use of electronic cigarettes (vaping), apply excise tax and price measures to reduce tobacco consumption and implement effective measures to communicate health risks through graphic health warnings to populations, including children and youth.
I encourage all our partners, including other UN agencies, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, academia, and communities, to raise awareness about the risks of tobacco use and to support strong measures that shield the African youth from the harm of tobacco products—and deceptive advertising practices of the tobacco industry.
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