AIR Spotlight: Challenges of Tobacco Use

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: ‘Challenges of Tobacco Use especially in South-East Asia Region and India’.

Participants:

• Dr Roderico H. Ofrin: WHO Representative to India
• Aditi Tandon: AIR Correspondent

Context – ‘World No Tobacco Day’ is observed on 31st May every year with an aim to highlight the risk associated with tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption worldwide.

World No Tobacco Day

World No Tobacco Day is an annual global health campaign observed on 31st May every year to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption worldwide.

• Owing to the increasing consumption of tobacco among individuals worldwide, WHO has dedicated May 31 to commemorate World No-Tobacco Day every year since 1987.
• The World No Tobacco Day, 2023 revolves around the theme “We need food, not tobacco”. It aims to create awareness about alternate crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable and nutritious crops.

Read more on World No Tobacco Day in the linked article.

Tobacco Industry –

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year, including around 1.2 million deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke. The tobacco industry tries to find its replacement users and sets its sight on the next generation of users by targeting children and young people.

• The tobacco industry invests around $9 billion a year to advertise its products and the strategies include advertising, TV shows, through social media platforms with paid influencers, sporting events, etc. The smoking ads make smoking appear appealing, which increases adolescents’ desire to smoke.
• Women are also targeted by the tobacco industry which produces brands specifically for women. Marketing for women is dominated by themes of social desirability, empowerment and independence. 

The tobacco industry is doing whatever it takes to turn a profit – lying to the public and greedily targeting kids to continue selling their products.

Measures taken by GoI to combat tobacco menace-

Tobacco imposes a colossal burden of disease and death leading to catastrophic health, social, economic and environmental effects. GoI has taken several measures to contain the menace of tobacco which includes COTPA, 2003 (Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003).

• The Act prohibits smoking in public places; forbids the sale of tobacco to minors; tobacco products must be sold with an appropriate pictorial warning of their nicotine and tar contents; banning advertising of tobacco products.
• India, as a signatory to WHO’s FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), is actively involved in combating the menace of tobacco. To address the tobacco epidemic, WHO Member States adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2003. It is the first international public health treaty and lays out supply and demand reduction strategies to combat tobacco use in all its forms.
• In 2019, India, through an ordinance prohibited the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems).

e- Cigarettes –

Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce an aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine, which is the addictive substance in combustible cigarettes. These include all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Heat Not Burn Products, e-Hookah and like devices. 

• These novel products come with attractive appearances and multiple flavours and their use has increased exponentially and has acquired epidemic proportions in developed countries, especially among youth and children.
• E-cigarettes are being marketed as a tool to help quit smoking. However, on the contrary, these have opposite effects. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance and constant exposure to it can impair brain development and increase the risk of heart and lung diseases.
• The use of e-cigarettes could lead to a new generation of nicotine and tobacco users, as seen in some countries, especially in how these products are marketed to young people. 
• In 2019, GoI approved the promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes. It protects future generations from getting addicted to nicotine and other related products. The global public health community is learning from this step of India. 
• Use of different forms of tobacco whether hookah or electronic nicotine delivery systems is very harmful and there are deliberate attempts being made to dupe and fool youngsters.

Tobacco Use in South East Asian Region-

Tobacco use is a serious public health problem in the South East Asia Region (SEAR) where the use of both smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco is widely prevalent. It claims about 1.6 million lives in the WHO South East Asia Region which is amongst the largest producers and consumers of tobacco products. The region has 266 million smokeless tobacco (SLT) users out of the 355 million globally, about 80% of the global prevalence of smokeless tobacco is in this region. Almost 90% of SLT users are in India.

• Smokeless tobacco, commonly known as spit tobacco, chewing tobacco, chew, and dip, involves the placement of tobacco leaves in the mouth instead of smoking them in cigarettes. Many people are unaware that even the most basic SLT goods contain a complex mixture of approximately 4,000 distinct chemicals, many of which are harmful, mutagenic, and carcinogenic. This prompts grave worries regarding the potential health hazards of using SLT.
• The two most commonly used SLT products among adults in India are khaini and gutkha, with the latter also containing areca nut as an ingredient. This combination poses an even greater risk, as areca nut is classified as a class-1 carcinogen. Further, there is increasing evidence of tobacco affecting sperm count, sperm motility and causing miscarriages.
• In the Southeast Asia Region, India leads in acres of land under cultivation and tobacco production, followed by Indonesia. Tobacco is also grown in Bangladesh, DPR Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. 

Tobacco – An Environmental Hazard

Tobacco is a major risk factor for leading non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, diabetes mellitus, etc. It also poses a threat to the environment, however, its negative impact on the environment has not received much attention.

• With an annual greenhouse gas contribution of 84 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent, the tobacco industry contributes to climate change and reduces climate resilience, wasting resources and damaging ecosystems.
• Around 3.5 million hectares of land are destroyed for tobacco growing each year. Growing tobacco contributes to deforestation, especially in the developing world. Deforestation for tobacco plantations promotes soil degradation and “failing yields” or the capacity for the land to support the growth of any other crops or vegetation.
• Intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers required to yield a successful harvest is also contributing to soil degradation making it harder to grow other crops in the future.

Conclusion – It is the time for governments and policymakers to develop and implement suitable policies and strategies for tobacco farmers to shift to growing food crops that would provide them and their families with a better life. This would in turn support national economies and ensure food security.

Read previous AIR Spotlight articles here.

AIR Spotlight: Challenges of Tobacco Use:- Download PDF Here