In 1987, Member States of the World Health Organization designated 31 May as World No Tobacco Day. This was done to draw attention to the global tobacco epidemic, and the preventable death and disease it causes,
World Health Organization reports.
Every year, this day reminds us of the dangers of tobacco, and informs us about what our Organization is doing to fight this epidemic. It informs people around the world about what they can do to claim their right to health, and how to protect future generations. It also shines a light on the business practices of tobacco companies.
This year, World No Tobacco Day calls on us all to protect children from the interference of the tobacco industry. Young people across the world are calling for the tobacco industry to stop targeting them with products that are harmful to their health. They are calling on governments to adopt policies to protect them from the manipulative practices of tobacco and related industries. This includes the relentless marketing of their dangerous products through social media and streaming platforms.
The fight against tobacco is particularly important for us in South-East Asia. The tobacco industry’s targeting of youth is rampant across our Member States. As a result, we have a very worrying 11 million adolescents using various tobacco products. Coupled with the approximate 411 million adult tobacco users, our Region, unfortunately, has the highest number of adolescent and adult users globally.
The industry lures youth by aggressively introducing new nicotine and tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products. These are becoming increasingly popular with the youth in our Region. It is worrying that children and adolescents are regularly exposed to the digital marketing of tobacco products. This is despite having policies and regulations in place to prevent this.
