“Smoke-Free Futures: Empowering Lives on World Anti-Tobacco Day”

The World Health Organization (WHO) and advocates from all over the globe come together on May 31st to celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), a day that brings attention to the negative effects of the tobacco industry on individuals.

Priority for WNTD 2024

Preventing tobacco products from targeting minors is the central goal of WNTD 2024. Tobacco control advocates, lawmakers, and concerned citizens may come together on this campaign to demand that governments end the tobacco industry’s misleading advertising and take action to safeguard citizens from the harmful effects of tobacco use. Additional measures are required to protect these populations, even though the tobacco control community has succeeded in reducing cigarette smoking.

According to 2017 statistics, 267 million Indian adults aged 15 or older use tobacco products. The most common kind of tobacco is smokeless tobacco, which includes khaini, gutkha, paan, and zarda. Tobacco use cost India an astounding $27.5 billion USD in lost revenue, so this is very concerning. In India, tobacco use is second highest globally.

However, new numbers from 2022 show that 37 million kids between the ages of 13 and 15 use tobacco in some way. Just among youths in the European Region of the World Health Organization, 11.5 percent of boys and 10.1 percent of girls use tobacco products (4 million).

The tobacco industry’s obsession with young people stems from its need to replace clients who died or quit smoking each year in order to maintain earnings.

In pursuit of this goal, the industry works to create an environment that encourages the use of its products, with relaxed rules ensuring that they are affordable and easily accessible. The industry also creates marketing campaigns and merchandise aimed squarely at children, with the goal of capturing their attention through various forms of electronic media.

Things like nicotine packets and electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular among teenagers. In 2022, e-cigarette use was 2% among adults and 12.5% among kids in the European Region, according to reports. There is a two- to threefold increase in the use of electronic cigarettes among students in comparison to cigarette smoking in countries in the area.

The industry promotes addiction by encouraging young people to rely on their products. On World No Tobacco Day 2024, we call upon tobacco control campaigners and governments to protect future generations from the tobacco industry’s harmful effects and to hold the industry’s culprits accountable.

Important Things

The bulk of lung cancer deaths are attributable to smoking, which is one of the many cancers that tobacco can cause.
Tobacco use is still an issue among adolescents (those between the ages of 13 and 15), despite the fact that the total number of smokers has dropped to 1.25 billion.

Electronic cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, munchies, and pouches are some of the innovative goods that the tobacco business has introduced to entice consumers. It also uses platforms to get around advertising restrictions.
May 31st is World No Tobacco Day, and in the lead-up to it, there has been a push for higher tobacco costs, additional smoke-free zones, and more stringent marketing and sales rules, all with the goal of protecting young people. They hope to tackle the exploitation of channels for consumer targeting.

Some types of leukemia, as well as cancers of the mouth, lungs, liver, stomach, colon, and ovaries, have been associated with tobacco use. On a global scale, it is responsible for about 2.5 million fatalities, or 25% of all cancer-related deaths. Smoking causes 85% of lung cancer fatalities, underscoring the need for global collaboration to combat tobacco usage.

In summary

Every year, World Tobacco Day highlights the global epidemic of tobacco-related diseases. This day, which falls on May 31st every year, draws attention to the terrible effects of tobacco use on people’s health, society, and the economy. Combating tobacco usage involves bringing attention to the issue, encouraging people to quit, and pushing for strict regulations to limit their exposure to tobacco. Communities and governments can work together to end tobacco use for good, promote healthier lifestyles, and work towards a world with far fewer tobacco-related diseases and fatalities. Together, we can improve public health and save millions of lives.