The Role of Youth in Tobacco Control
Kanwal Niazi
Worldwide, tobacco and its many different forms are being used by people of all age groups especially the teenagers below 18 years of age and young adults in early 20s leading to global health crisis. Tobacco usage causes a range of diseases including lung cancer, stroke, heart diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that every year, a total of around 8 million people die due to tobacco related diseases of which 1.2 million deaths are attributed to secondhand smoke only. This also impacts the overall economy of the world which comes to about $1.4 trillion including the healthcare expenses and productivity losses.
In my opinion, since 90% of tobacco users are youth, these young people are also the ones that can bring about a change in society. They can raise their voices to educate their peers and communities about the dangerous effects of tobacco usage. They can use the facts and figures to counter the myths promoted by tobacco companies. They can educate people about the global effects of deforestation and pollution that are basically the environmental impacts of tobacco farming. Moreover, the youth can advocate for stronger policies and ensure their implementation – be it higher taxes being imposed on tobacco and related products, flavored products being banned by the government, no sale of cigarettes and other products to children under 18 years of age, ban on marketing and advertisements of such products on television and different social media platforms. Instead youth can use these platforms to amplify their voices and raise awareness regarding this issue. They can also use hashtags like #SayNoToTobacco or #TobaccoFreeYouth to help all to pledge against tobacco and use it on videos and other posts when campaigning against tobacco usage. It is more likely that young people listen to people of their own age group and thus can bring about a change in society for its betterment.
In the past, there have been many achievements in youth-led tobacco control. There are many national and international organizations that have been working for this cause. Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) are just two organizations that have mobilized a number of young activists to advocate for policy changes. Apart from this, digital advocacy and community-based initiatives have helped to reach millions of people educating them about this topic and holding tobacco companies accountable for all the damage caused by the usage of tobacco and the related products.
However, there is more that can be done to eradicate smoking. It is important that schools, government organizations and NGOs all come together and provide trainings, resources and platforms to lead the anti-tobacco campaigns all that nurture youth leadership and skills. Moreover, it is important that all such organization come together and collaborate with one another to contribute to the cause and enhance the effectiveness of tobacco control efforts. Also, since there are new technological advancements being introduced each day, AI apps can be developed that can help people give up smoking by providing new and updated information through the app, the different ways people can quit smoking and how they can cope up with the withdrawal symptoms that they can experience in the process of giving up smoking.