Watchful and Reverent

31st May is World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), an annual global campaign mooted by World Health Organization (WHO) with global partners to fight the menace of tobacco. The theme for WNTD campaign 2025 as announced by WHO is - “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products”. The yearlong campaign aims to reveal the tactics that the tobacco and nicotine industries use to make their harmful products seem attractive.

In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed resolution WHA 40.38 and called for April 7th of the following year to be a “World No-Smoking Day”. In 1988, resolution WHA 42.19 was passed by the World Health Assembly, declaring May 31st of each year going forward as “World No Tobacco Day”.It is a global campaign that informs the citizens of the dangers of using tobacco and what people around the world can do to fight this menace and claim their right to health. Aim is not only to create awareness among people about the health risks but also to encourage governments to adopt effective policies to reduce the use of tobacco.

India ranks second in tobacco related deaths worldwide with nearly 14 lakh annual deaths. Disclaimers like – Tobacco causes painful death, Smoking causes throat cancer, Smoking Kills etc. does not seem to deter people from consuming tobacco. The reason is nicotine, a highly addictive substance. Tobacco is the only product that kills half of its consumers. Tobacco destroys health, drains wallets and pollutes the environment. One may ponder as to why the Government does not ban tobacco instead of promoting Disclaimers and WNTD, only to realize that huge tax revenues make it financially challenging. The tobacco industry may generate revenue but if the overall cost of tobacco use is considered, which includes healthcare costs, lost productivity, premature deaths, reduced life expectancy, environmental pollution and social costs, then it is not profitable. The industry is also a major contributor to funds of political parties and hence can influence government policies in their favor.One cannot refute the logic that people consume tobacco at their own discretion, and a ban would increase the black market resulting in tax loss.The government can definitely delay initiation of tobacco consumption by increasing minimum legal age to access tobacco to 21 years from the present 18 years.

India is the second largest tobacco consumer and producer in the world. Tobacco is smoked in the form of cigarettes, cigars, bidis, pipes or water pipes. More than 4 million people work as bidi rollers in India. It is a cottage-based industry employing many women and children. Smokeless tobacco (SLT) forms include betel quid chewing, gutka, khaini and as an ingredient of pan masala. Chewing SLT increases saliva production and enhances the urge to spit repeatedly. Spitting in public leads to nuisance and can also lead to spread of infections. Various SLT products available at affordable costs and attractive packings and marketed through celebrity endorsement makes SLT a highly prevalent form of tobacco use in India among the youth.

Tobacco and tobacco smoke contains a harmful substance called nicotine which in addition to addiction damages the circulatory system leading to heart disease and stroke besides increasing the risk of cancer.Tar is the particulate matter generated by burning tobacco which stains fingers and teeth and gets deposited in the lungs.While majority of harmful chemicals come from burning tobacco, the rest are from burning cigarette paper, the additives and the agricultural chemicals left from farming the tobacco leaves.Cigarette smoke is Mainstream – smoke inhaled by a smoker, Side stream – smoke from the end of a lit cigarette and Secondhand – smoke exhaled by a smoker plus the side stream smoke. Thus, a smoker exposes everyone around him to the same toxins he is inhaling. Then there is the Third hand smoke - residue of toxins sticking in the clothes of the smoker and on surfaces like curtains, carpets etc.

The tobacco industry targets the youth for a lifetime of profits. The younger a person is when they start using tobacco, the more likely they are to become dependent on nicotine. Youth,especially from low strata of society have no access to information on how deadly these products are and get easily influenced by ads and friends who use tobacco. Youngsters have fascination for experimenting which gets amplified by larger than life images shown in surrogate ads for tobacco. Images that make smoking seem attractive are everywhere but most abundantly in movies. Advertisements showing smokers as sporty and successful, movie characters showing smoking as routine of daily life and scenes depicting unusual ways of lighting cigarettes easily impress the young minds. Smokeless tobaccos are made attractive with colorful packets, sleek designs, enticing flavors, innocent names and catchy phrases advertised by both sportsmen and film stars during commercial breaks of live telecast of events.

Trademark migration across products by tobacco brands lead to extensive surrogate advertisements. An unregulated product like elaichi (cardamom) is advertised to introduce youngsters to tobacco consumption, since both share the same brand name as also the way of consumption. Since Tobacco ads have been banned in India since 1st May 2004, surrogate ads aim to build brand recognition by engaging popular celebrities, flamboyant imagery and emotional social messages like brotherhood, chivalry etc. It is a paradox that most celebrity actors and sportsmen who endorse tobacco via direct/surrogate advertisement don’tconsume tobacco themselves.Citizens particularly the young imitate dressing and hair styles of celebrities and tobacco brands endorsement by celebrities adds to general acceptance of these products.Celebrities have a moral obligation to promote public health and endorsing tobacco brands through surrogate ads is irresponsible.They should help the youthrealize that being cool is about being true to oneself and making decisions which are best for one’s health. Celebrities with large public presence often serve as role models and their actions both on and off-screen can significantly impact society. By being watchful and reverent, celebrities can help to create a “tobacco free generation”.

Dr Dipankara Devebrata is a Guwahati-based ENT specialist and a contributor to articles on Health and Wellness in both English and Assamese languages. He may be contacted at drdipdev@gmail.com.

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