World No Tobacco Day
31st May, of every year, is celebrated as the ‘World No Tobacco Day’ by the Who Health Organization and its global partners. The aim is to create awareness about the health problems that arise due to smoking, to reduce tobacco, and the effects of second-hand smoking on family and life. On this day, smokers are encouraged not to smoke for 24 hours.
Theme this Year
This year, WHO has come up with a unique theme, that no only would easily influence people but also urges to quit tobacco. The theme is, ‘‘Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use.’ The aim of this theme is to debunk myths, to expose tactics used by the tobacco and related industries to attract young people, to teach how to detect industrial manipulation to young people, to provide tools to oppose big tobacco.
According to data from WHO, there are 1.3 billion lining people who smoke apart from the ones that are killed. Every four seconds, tobacco kills a person. However, due to the intelligent manipulation and deception of these nicotine and tobacco industries, it still remains a global epidemic.
Tobacco industries are now totally aiming a new younger generation as their customers to this life-taking product. They have their unique marketing strategies to take their product to the market and among people. The investors prey upon people to gain as much profit as possible and keep their business going.
So, what are these strategies?
Let us get a glimpse of how tobacco industries manage to get to the customers.
- They attract children with appealing flavors of smokeless tobacco, shishas, and e-cigarettes.
- Provide free samples to students in popular events to promote their tobacco products
- Advertising through movies and Tv shows
- They are advertising online through social media by paying influencers.
In the last decade, as the awareness of ill-effects of tobacco increased among the people, the industries began with well-planned strategies to redesign and rebrand its products to sustain profitability. They introduced ‘tobacco filters,’ ‘low,’ and ‘mild’ tobacco products so that people who are on the verge of quitting would stabilize again. However, these are entirely false claims created just for the purpose of sustaining customers.
They use phrases such as “reduced-risk,” “smoke-free,” “socially acceptable” to promote their e-cigarettes. In contrast to being a healthier alternative, they still continue to be the same harmful addictive.
Most tobacco industries promote their product through ‘influencers’ and ‘celebrities,’ ‘scholarships,’ ‘school programs,’ and ‘youth camps.’
Attractive marketing through social media and retail shops, cartoons, toys, sleek design, appealing flavors, vending machines, etc., attracts young people to buy their products.
Call to Action
Adolescents and teens with prior knowledge of these cheap marketing techniques should avoid tobacco products. They should be taught the harmful, life-taking effects of tobacco and nicotine. We cannot sacrifice another whole generation as prey to the tobacco industry. The government should take necessary legal action against the tobacco and nicotine industries too.