Why Tobacco Use Is Not Banned

Abstract

Cigarette smoking has become a large scale problem. Active smokers harm the passive smokers. They cannot quit smoking even though they are well aware of the harmful effects of smoking because they have become addicted. People think that hookah is not dangerous for health as it contains flavored and sweetened tobacco but actually, it is 100-200 times more harmful than cigarettes. Developing countries like China are having smoking problems due to no restrictions imposed on recreational areas. Nowadays, everyone is connected with television, newspaper, radio and internet in one way or another. Media is the best way to help people to quit smoking by showing them anti-smoking advertisements and online anti-smoking campaigns. Every year, smoking causes approximately 4,40,000 premature deaths in America only and 5 million deaths worldwide. In order to reduce this ratio, many researchers have suggested their own ways to present anti-smoking advertisements. The rehabilitation process can be helpful in quitting smoking. In order to do this, smokers must discuss their decisions and problems with their psychiatrist, friends and family members. In Hong Kong, approximately 10% people die due to cancer. The ratio of smoking is less in Hong Kong due to strict government policies and lack of tobacco industries. In 1970’s, more than 2 million people died in America due to cancer. The percentage of women smokers has increased over the years which results in many tobacco hazards in them like lung cancer, giving birth to premature babies.

Introduction

Smoking is really bad for our health. Even the Cigarette packets contain pictures of damaged lungs and gums but still, it is not banned in the market. The reason is that prohibition does not work, America once banned Alcohol but still the people did not refrain from drinking and buying it. If cigarettes do get banned in the world, then people will buy it from the black market and consequently, the practice of illegal smuggling will start. Another reason for the high prevalence of smoking is that it is historical. At one point, over 50% of the adult population smoked, as a result many people got heart and respiratory diseases such as cancer. The smokers have become so stubborn now, they also adapted to the ban in pubs and young people are always curious about smoking, so it is very difficult to end smoking. Nowadays, at least 15.5% of people smoke and they rather enjoy smoking. Many smokers want to quit smoking and they know the harmful effects of smoking on their health but they are unable to do so as they have become addicts and they enjoy smoking way too much. Tobacco marketing is about getting young people addicted. Smoking kills more people annually than alcohol, illegal drugs and suicide.

The reason I chose this topic was because everyone knows the harmful effects of smoking but still many people smoke all over the world. I wanted to know the reason why smoking is not banned by the Government if it is so harmful or why no one is taking strict actions against smoking especially in Universities, colleges and smoke-free areas. This article does not discuss about the rehabilitation process. It does not tell how to avoid smoking. This article does not focus on the old people who are greater than the age of 50. This article does not tell about how to stop passive smokers. It does not tell about the exact people who left smoking.

My research is a combination of both primary and secondary resources, as I made a questionnaire and got it answered by the university students and I also conducted some secondary research.

Literature Review

John R Hughes and Anthony Liquor (1997) in their article “Tobacco control “wrote about the growth of research on treatments of smoking with aspect to the medical disorder and found out that the number of articles on smoking have increased per year since 1967. In this article they tell us the treatment of smoking by rehabilitation and counselling. This article does not discuss about the rehabilitation process. This article is about that how smoking is increasing day by day.

Elizabeth M. Whalen and Revelry A. Moshe (1981) in their article “Tobacco hazards in women’s magazines” did analysis coverage of tobacco hazards and told us that cigarette smoking is the number one cause of deaths in America. Recently women smokers have been increased which results in special health hazard. It clearly focuses that cigarette smoking is the number one cause of cancer in the United States. It does not tell how to encourage smoking. This article is about the diseases caused my cigarette smoking.

John P. Pierce and Elizabeth A. Gilpin (2007) in their article “News media coverage of smoking” told about the news media coverage of smoking to determine whether changes in news media coverage of smoking and health issues are associated with changes in smoking behaviour in the USA. Patterns in cessation incidents were considered for ages 20-34 years and 35-50 years. Initiation incidence was examined for adolescents 14-17 years and young adults 18-21 of both genders. This article does not focus on the old people who are greater than the age of 50. It tells that how media coverage can help encouraging smoking through counselling.

Gail E. Kennedy and Lisa A. Bero (1999) in their article “Passive smoking” told about the print media coverage of research on passive smoking that the harmful effects of smoking were controversial whereas few research articles supported the tobacco industry’s claim that passive smoking is not harmful for health. This article focuses on how passive smoking is having harmful effects on the health of other who are not smoking. This article does not tell about how to stop passive smokers.

Judith M. Mackay and Geoffrey T. Barnes (1987) in their article “Effects of strong government measures against tobacco in Hong Kong “tells about effects of government measures against tobacco in Hong Kong that the government of Hong Kong took strict measures against tobacco in the early 80’s which led to decrease in the smoking rates as people got more aware about the harmful effects of tobacco. It tells that how Hong Kong encouraged their people to not smoke and it went well. It does not tell about the exact people who left smoking.

Discussion

Hookah smoking is also a popular way of inhaling tar and nicotine which is also known as Shisha and is mostly used in Asia and Middle-Eastern countries. Many people think that it is not very harmful as it is basically flavored tobacco with fruity fragrances but they do not know this that hookah is even more harmful and addictive than cigarettes. In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) study on tobacco product regulation reported that “Compared with a single cigarette session, which typically lasts 5 minutes, a single hookah smoking session typically lasts 1 hour and users may inhale 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled in a single cigarette”. Also, the heat sources used to burn hookah like wood and charcoal increase the health risks as they release dangerous chemicals such as carbon monoxide and other heavy metals.

Developing countries are facing the huge problem of smoking. In 1970’s, the ratio of smoking started increasing and now about 82% of the world’s 1.1 billion smokers are in developing countries, among which 50% are in Asia. The most famous consumer and producer of tobacco is China. 3.50 million people (about 30% of world’s population) are smokers in China and approximately, 1 million people die here directly or indirectly due to smoking. Report on tobacco control in China (2007) stated that, “540 million non-smokers are suffering from second-hand smoke, including 180 million children below 15years of age.” The biggest reason of the increase in the ratio of smoking is that it is allowed to smoke in the recreational areas of China like restaurants, coffee shops and karaoke lounges which makes it a culture for the Chinese elites to smoke cigars and expensive cigarettes and makes people believe that it is accepted to smoke. If laws are made in order to make these areas ‘No smoking zones’ only then, this ratio can stop increasing.

Nowadays, everyone is in one way or another connected with Social Media like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also, everyone in their daily life is using ‘New Media’ whether by television, radio or billboards, it has a strong effect on our beliefs, behaviors and attitude even about smoking. There are at least 2000 references that tells us that the use of tobacco and its promotion has a strong connection with Social networks and social marketing campaigns which encourages smoking cessation. Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), ratified by 172 nations stated in 2011 that, “If only direct, traditional forms of tobacco advertising are banned, then the industry will simply shift resources to other, more covert promotional avenues.” The shift to ‘New Media’ and the increasingly developing technology requires new ways of regulating tobacco industry marketing. If the ‘Web 2.0’ used as an interactive, participatory and consumer driven medium shows campaign in favor of tobacco control, maybe then, the nation can stop smoking.

Many countries have followed the suggestions of the World Health Organization for tobacco control. The techniques used by activist’s groups like BUGA-UP (Billboard Utilizing Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions) in Australia also proved effective in this regard. Hong Kong is a city in South -East Asia and have a population of about 5 and a half million people. 98% of them are Chinese. The major causes of death here are cancer (mostly lung cancer), heart diseases and cerebrovascular and respiratory diseases. Mostly, 10% people die due to cancer which is 7 times as many as caused by traffic accidents or plane crashes. The pattern of smoking in Hong Kong is different than the European and North American countries. The total number of smokers is 744500 (19%) people aged 15 and over are habitual smokers. 33% men and 8% women smoke in China whereas in the United Kingdom, 38% and 33% people smoke respectively. The smoking ratio is less in Hong Kong due to strict government policies and also because Hong Kong does not produce tobacco.

Cigarette smoking is the major cause of cancer in America which also leads to many other serious diseases such as emphysema, heart disease, gastric ulcers and chronic bronchitis. During the 1970’s, more than 2 million people died due to smoking in America. R. C Smith stated in an article in 1978 in the Columbia Journalism Review, coverage of this particular health topic,” the hazards of smoking are very limited in most magazines.” The exception to this rule are a few magazines that do not accept cigarette advertising. In recent years, the number of women smokers has increased specifically young women who start smoking in their adolescent years which results in lung cancer. There are other tobacco hazards found in women such as smokers have an earlier menopause than non- smokers. According to the 1979 Surgeon General’s report, Smoking and health,” The risk of spontaneous abortion, of fatal death and if neonatal death increases directly with increasing levels of maternal smoking during pregnancy.” Moreover, smokers also give birth to premature and low- weight infants more frequently than non-smokers.

The rehabilitation process includes, making the decision to quit smoking, relapse does not mean failure, to set a quit date, know your triggers, usually they are coffee, alcohol, stress, boredom, driving, the urge to take something after meals and being around tobacco, maybe by having a friend who smokes. The best way of getting rid of smoking is by getting mutual support by family, friends or personal determination because at least 95% people failed to quit smoking as they had no support. About 250 million women in the world are smokers. About 22 percent in developed countries and 9 percent in developing countries and many women in South Asia chew Tobacco. At least 24% males and 20% females who are from ages 40-59 smoked in 2001 and this ratio was decreased in 2016 by 19% and 16%. Passive smoking is breathing in the smoke if other people. Apparently it is more harmful than active smoking. It can increase the risk of a nonsmoker of getting lung cancer and other cancers such as larynx (voice box) and pharynx (upper throat). This risk is increased by 20- 30% and the risk of heart disease is 23%. Mostly, children get more affected due to passive smoking. The children can be saved from passive smoking by not smoking in a closed area such as your car, eat at smoke free restaurants, teach your children to stay away from secondhand smoke and try to quit smoking. Smoking rate in Hong Kong in the 1980’s was 23.3% which has now decreased to 10% in 2017 due to the strict policies of the Government.

Conclusion

Smoking is harmful for health, it is a worldwide known fact but still it is not banned in the market nor is avoided by the people. The major reason is that the people have become habitual and addicted to smoking and if tobacco gets banned, then the tobacco industry and the government would have to face major crisis. I conducted a research based on primary and secondary resources which included the topics, the role of media in tobacco control, tobacco hazards faced by women, the effects of strict government policies against tobacco in Hong Kong, the habit of smoking at recreational venues in China, how to avoid smoking and the rehabilitation process for smokers. After my research, I came to the conclusion that although there are many methods used to prevent people from smoking, still, there is a need for further restrictions.

References

1. Addiction Centre (2019). “Nicotine treatment and Rehab”, medical reviewer, Soltesz,T. (n.p)
2. Annual Report 2017-2018. Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. Latest cigarette smoking prevalence rate announced (2016). (n.p)
3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. National Drug Strategy Household Survey(NDSHS) 2016.(n.p)
4. Cancer Research Uk.(2018) (n.p)
5. Freeman,B. (2012). New media and tobacco control. Tobacco Control, 21(2), 139-144.
6. Griffiths,M., Harmon,T., and Gilly,M. (2011). Hubble Bubble Trouble: The Need for Education About and Regulation of Hookah Smoking. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 30(1), 119-132.
7. Hughes,J.,and Liguori,A. (1997). Bibliographical Analysis of Research on Smoking Cessation Therapy. Tobacco Control, 6(22), 111-114.
8. Kennedy,G., and Bero,L. (1999). Print Media Coverage of Research on Passive Smoking. Tobacco Control, 8(3), 254-260.
9. Li,X., Li,Q., Dong,L., Sun,B., Chen,J., Jiang,Y.,….Fong,G. (2010). Risk factors associated with smoking behavior in recreational venues: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) China Survey. Tobacco Control, 19(2), 130-139.
10. Mackay,J., and Barnes,G. (1998). Effects of Strong Government Measures Against Tobacco in Hong Kong. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition), 292(6533), 1435-1437.
11. Pierce,J., and Gilpin,E. (2001). News Media Coverage of Smoking and Health is Associated with changes in Population Rates of Smoking Cessation but Not Initiation. Tobacco Control, 10(2), 145-153.
12. Rampton,M. (2018), “If smoking is bad for you, why don’t they just make it illegal?” (n.p)
13. Whelan,E., Sheridan,M., Meister,K., and Mosher,B. (1981). Analysis of Coverage of Tobacco Hazards in Women’s Magazines. Journal of Public Health Policy, 2(1), 28-35.
14. World Health organization. British American Tobacco.”1976 Research report on Female smoking”.