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For decades, the tobacco industry has deliberately employed strategic, aggressive campaign to attract youth to tobacco and nicotine products. The industry has been carrying out in-depth research and calculated approaches designed to attract a new generation of tobacco users, from product design to marketing campaigns aimed at replacing the millions of people who die each year from tobacco-attributable diseases with new consumers – youth. For 2020 the WHO has chosen “Protecting the youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use” as the theme which seeks to provide a counter-marketing campaign and empower young people to engage in the fight against Big Tobacco. The World No Tobacco Day 2020 global campaign will serve to:
• Expose the lies and manipulation tactics employed by the tobacco industries, particularly marketing tactics targeted at youth, including through the introduction of new and novel products, flavours and other attractive features.
• Equip young people with knowledge about the tobacco and related industries’ tactics to hook current and future generations on tobacco and nicotine products.
• Empower influencers (in pop culture, on social media, in the home, or in the classroom) to protect and defend youth and catalyse change by engaging them in the fight against Big Tobacco.
The onslaught of tobacco industry’s campaign on the youth will continue but there is no reason why today’s youth with high level of awareness should fall prey to this. It’s high time that they come out and lead the Anti-Tobacco campaign themselves. It’s also a wakeup call for all the leaders, in different fields to take tobacco issues seriously, if we want younger generations to be a healthier society. The present situation offers a unique opportunity to the leaders of the state, to strictly implement Tobacco Control Laws under different provisions in the State, as now it is very clear that, consumption of tobacco products and spitting could lead to community transmission of virus. Moreover, most Tobacco users have co-morbidities and they have a much greater chance at developing serious complications when they are infected with the virus. Reducing tobacco use in society will not only reduce disease burden but it will improve the economy of the people. Sooner or later tobacco has to be dealt as such and this is the best time to do it.
Dr C Tetseo
State Nodal officer, NTCP
Issued in public interest