Tobacco Use Ugly and Deadly

Tobacco Use Ugly and Deadly
Date: 6/21/2010

TUMSPR News: The World No Tobacco Day 2010 focused on women who are falling victim to tobacco use and are targeted by the industry more than ever.

It is estimated that about 1 in 10 women are smokers and nearly there are about 200 million female smokers around the world. But that number would rise as the tobacco industry is investing enormously on advertisements (movies, pictures of celebrities, advertisements, etc) targeting women and there is a misled association between tobacco use, beauty and liberation among these populations.

In a survey carried out in 151 countries the number of young female and male smokers equaled. The worries arise when there is data depicting these young people would continue the habit in the older age.

Nearly two-thirds of 230,000 adults who die from second-hand smoking are women especially those who are powerless to protect themselves and children from the condition.

Ten facts about tobacco smoking

1- Although about 40% of men and 9% of women smoke but the trend is changing for a more parallel usage in some countries
2- As many girls as boys are now smoking in some countries as shown by a survey in 151 countries
3- Boys and girls start using tobacco for different reasons
Girls with lower self-esteem seem to be smoking.
4- Every year,5 million people die from tobacco use and 1.5 million of them are women 75% of which live in low and middle–income countries
5- Women are one of the biggest targets of the tobacco industry
6- More women than men smoke "light" cigarettes
7- Tobacco use harms women differently from men
They are more likely to experience infertility and delays in conceiving. Other risks are premature delivery, stillbirth and newborn death, and a reduction in breast milk and cancer of the cervix.
8- Women constitute 64% of deaths from second-hand smoke
Unfortunately more than 90% of the world's population has not adopted smoke-free laws.
9- People who smoke should avoid exposing the people with whom they live and work to second-hand smoke
10- Controlling tobacco use among women is an important part of any tobacco control strategy.

References:
About 200 million of the world’s one billion smokers are women
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/gender_tobacco/facts/en/index.html
Advertisements Associating Tobacco with Beauty, Liberation Targets Women; but Tobacco Use ‘Ugly and Deadly’, Says Secretary-General on World Day
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/sgsm12919.doc.htm

http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/english/news/detail.asp?newsID=17529