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Every May 31, World No Tobacco Day is celebrated, a day designed to remember that smoking is one of the most harmful acts for health. Although the number of smokers worldwide has decreased over the years, the prevalence of cigarette smoking is still high, causing more than 8 million deaths annually.
“It is the only legal product that kills half of the users who use it, as stated by the manufacturer.” This is how the World Health Organization (WHO) describes tobacco, a product consumed by 1.3 billion people around the world and it is estimated that, over time, it causes or contributes to the death of half of these individuals.
The figures are chilling: each year, tobacco causes 8.2 million deaths, of which 1.2 are indirect, due to exposure to “second-hand smoke”. According to the WHO, almost half correspond to deaths from chronic respiratory diseases, 24% from cancer and 15% from cardiovascular diseases.
The life expectancy of a smoker is approximately ten years shorter than that of a person who does not share this habit and tobacco continues to be the main preventable risk factor for the development of tumors and deaths from cancer.
However, despite the fact that the harmful effects of cigarettes are becoming more widespread, it is still difficult to combat this habit, especially due to the opposition of the powerful tobacco industry, which spends 8,000 million dollars in advertising every year.
Tobacco industry priorities
In December 1953, the directors of the major tobacco companies met in New York to decide on a joint strategy in the face of mounting evidence linking tobacco to lung cancer. published a text titled “An honest statement for smokers”in which they assured that “they accepted the interest in people’s health as a basic, primordial and priority responsibility before any other consideration of the business”.
Yet that statement was a smokescreen that has lasted for decades, as the industry has opposed every piece of legislation that has come forward to control tobacco use, from indoor smoking bans to price regulation.
For example, an internal document from tobacco company Phillip Morris from 1995 made the real intentions of the industry clear: “Our general approach to this matter is to aggressively fight with all available resources against any attempt, from anywhere, to diminish our ability to manufacture our products efficiently and sell them effectively.
The consequences of prioritizing the business, in addition to claiming the lives of millions of people, have also aggravated some gaps: 80% of smokers are in low- and middle-income countries, according to the WHO.
In an interview with France 24, this is the explanation given by Adriana Blanco Marquizo, head of the secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: “Tobacco control started earlier in developed countries, so the industry has moving according to their needs looking for countries with less regulation and fewer obstacles”.
Vaping, a practice that is still harmful
Just as tobacco companies have moved from high-income countries to those with fewer resources, new products have emerged over the decades with the hype of being healthier. “The industry presented cigarette filters as a great advantage,” recalls Dr. Blanco.
Now, this WHO expert blames another form of smoking for having that same tendency: vaping. “Independent science is not conclusive in saying that vaping is less harmful. But we know full well that it is not without risk,” she says.
For example, if the product you vape is nicotine, you are still exposed to the consequences it has on cognitive development at an early age or on cardiovascular health.
Fewer or more smokers after the pandemic?
Despite industry opposition (and nicotine addiction), the overall numbers have dwindled. If in 2005, 29% of the population was a smoker, now the figure is close to 12.5%, a significant improvement. The global number of smokers has increased, but that is due to the growth of the world population.
The decline has been continuous since 1990, a key decade in terms of legislation to regulate the use of tobacco. According to a study published in the journal The Lancet in May 2021, 83% of all smokers started this habit between the ages of 14 and 25.
The Covid-19 pandemic, however, has sounded the alarms again: in countries like the United States, consumption has risen again after the quarantine and it has done so among a population that is much more aware of the risks that involves tobacco for their health than their parents’ generation.
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