No amount of tobacco use by children is safe because tobacco contains nicotine which has been established to be dangerous to health. Direct smoking and second-hand smoke result in poor health conditions and impair proper brain development in children.
Every year, transnational Tobacco Companies like Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, etc.; spend billions of dollars in marketing, repackaging, and rebranding of tobacco products to appeal to the growing young population.
According to the American Lung Association, in 2022, tobacco companies spent a total of $8.01 billion on tobacco advertising in the United States. Most tobacco advertisements are done at movies and entertainment theatres, at popular stores, and through price reductions and the use of coupons.
Weaponized Advertising
Aggressive advertising and marketing have been used to attract new young smokers as old customers are dying from tobacco-related diseases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control [CDC] (2023), every 2,000 young people below 18 years of age begin tobacco use and 300 become smokers. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco kills 8 million people yearly and half of tobacco users die from tobacco-related diseases.
What Parents Can Do
As a caution, parents and teachers should support all programs to ban tobacco advertising and promotion to children and on television programs at times when kids are likely to watch their favorite games or sports. It is a known fact according to science that the nicotine in tobacco is addictive and that smoking is simply a direct way of injecting a poisonous toxin into the body, especially into the brain.
Tobacco impairs proper development and brain function, decreases physical fitness, and is linked to depression and anxiety in children.
The tobacco industry has for decades been in a fight to compromise the health of young people through branding of tobacco to attract teens. In efforts to diffuse the dangerous health consequences of direct tobacco use and second-hand smoke (indirect tobacco use), tobacco companies have developed novel tobacco products with attractive packaging and flavors to appeal to the taste of underage and teenagers. These tobacco products are often referred to as next-generation products.
These products which are commonly available at most retail outlets such as e-cigarettes, otherwise known as the electronic delivery system (ENDS), heated tobacco products, snus, and nicotine pouches were developed to deceive and hook young people and are specifically targeted for delivery to low-income neighborhoods to increase tobacco market and profit bottom-line at the detriment of the development of young people in our society.
The CDC recently reported that the tobacco industry specifically and aggressively directs tobacco products, especially menthol cigarettes to young people and African Americans in urban areas.
Increasing Reach to Vulnerable Youth
Apart from brand-new products targeted at young people, big tobacco companies have embarked on buying other tobacco companies to expand their bases and increase their reach to vulnerable youth. For instance, British American Tobacco (BAT) acquired Reynolds America Inc.; in July 2017, and thus inherited Vuse E-Cigarette. Other tobacco poisons marketed by BAT and targeted at younger generations include heated tobacco, hybrid products such as Velo (nicotine oral pouch), and other conventional combustible tobacco products.
Philip Morris International (PMI) has invested in Smokeless Tobacco, a non-combustible tobacco product containing addictive nicotine. According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (2024), smokeless tobacco products can result in various cancers in the mouth, pancreas, and esophagus, and can result in nicotine poisoning in little children. Smokeless tobacco was targeted at beginners and those who fear being detected by the smell or the smoke of tobacco.
New Threats to Youth Health and Wellness
Many tobacco companies have invested in Snus which is marketed as being a less harmful brand of tobacco and effective in reducing cravings for cigarettes. This is untrue! Such misleading claims by the tobacco industry that some forms of tobacco are less harmful are false and a dangerous stunt.
Studies have shown that using snus by young people can lead to addiction and tobacco dependency in adulthood.
Tobacco companies are marketing candy and flavored tobacco products or vapes to encourage young people to smoke. They also use notable celebrities in advertising as a tactic to influence young people.
It should be clear that the major aim of Transnational Tobacco Companies is to increase smoking-related burden, causing brain damage to young people to make huge profits and increase healthcare costs. Given Africa’s weak health system, more deaths and disabilities from tobacco use are likely to be on the rise in the next few decades to come.
How Communities Can Fight Back
To prevent these tactics, parents and educators should attend their City Council meetings and vote against any policy or measure to increase the number of tobacco retail outlets or siting of tobacco shops near schools. All cities should drastically reduce the number of retail outlets licensed to grocers because the more the number of outlets, the easier it will be for young people to access tobacco.
Also, advocacy against tobacco use in schools should be promoted. Every school district should observe a yearly weeklong tobacco awareness education program and students should carry out projects on tobacco prevention as well as activate the Students Health Ambassadors program for peer-mentoring. Teachers should be trained to provide education and awareness on tobacco-use risks. The Health for Schools & Communities Foundation (www.healthfsc.org) through the assistance of Breathe California (https://lungsrus.org), is creating awareness of the dangers of tobacco use among young people and providing interventions to adults to quit smoking in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tobacco use is an unhealthy habit, addictive, and dangerous. Children who get initiated often continue with it to adult life. Please,” Say No Tobacco for Teens “and adults who smoke around kids should quit!
Raymond Chimezie, PhD, CHES
Behavioral Health-Risk Prevention/Education Advocate
Health for Schools & Communities Foundation
References:
American Cancer Society. (2024, May 1). Tobacco Industry Marketing. Tobacco Industry Marketing | American Lung Association.
Centers for Disease Prevention & Control. (2024, May 15). Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco. Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco | Smoking and Tobacco Use | CDC.
CDC. (2023, May 4). Cigarette Smoking in the U.S. Cigarette Smoking in the U.S. (cdc.gov).
Tobacco Tactics-African Region. (2022, February 1). Smoking in AFRO Region. African Region - Tobacco Tactics.