Shocking – 30% Indian children want to smoke when they grow up!

A recent survey by the journal Pediatrics found that children are keenly aware about tobacco products and could even spot the logos of local and international cigarette brands. The study was carried

By: Nirmalya Dutta | | Published: October 1, 2013 10:25 am

A recent survey by the journal Pediatrics found that children are keenly aware about tobacco products and could even spot the logos of local and international cigarette brands. The study was carried out in six nations Brazil, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia and China countries where the adult smoking rates are highest. The study found that nine in 10 Chinese kids aged between five and six years could identify tobacco company logos. On the other hand, Indian kids were the most eager to smoke with 30% boys and girls claiming they wanted to smoke when they grow up. More than two thirds of the children studied (68 per cent of the 2,423 participants) could identify at least one cigarette brand logo. (Read: War on Tobacco) Also Read - Genes linked to common brain disorder, Chiari 1 malformation, identified

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The findings raise concerns about whether low and middle income countries are complying with international bans on tobacco advertising to young children, the study authors said. What was amazing to me was how we saw kids who don’t live with smokers but were very aware of cigarette brands, lead author Dina Borzekowski of the University of Maryland told AFP. Also Read - Can vaping lead to smoking in teenagers? Here's what you need to know

What that says to me is they are getting their messages through the community, in their environments. They are seeing it at retail establishments, they are seeing posters. When they go off to buy a piece of candy at a local store, they are seeing these logos.

The study involved researchers playing a matching game with children with youths being asked to pair a logo with a picture of product like a car, cigarettes, food items or beverages. All the children were shown Marlboro and Camel logos, along with local brands that were distinct to their country.

We would show them a logo and they would have to pick up a card with the product, said Borzekowski. China had the dubious distinction of the highest recognition rates with 86% children being able to identify one cigarette brand logo. In China, on average, kids knew almost four out of eight of the brands, Borzekowski said. These are little kids. The idea that they can recognize logos at this young an age is amazing.

More than a quarter of all children studied could identify two to three cigarette brands, and 18 percent knew four or more. Children were also asked if they intended to smoke when they grew up. The highest yes rate was in India, where 30 percent — both boys and girls — said they planned to be smokers as adults. In China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia, boys were more likely than girls to say they would smoke as adults.

The study was done in selected urban rural areas in the host countries, and researchers said they endeavoured to make sure the children were typical and not from wealthier communities where awareness of tobacco marketing might be higher. However, they noted that because the studies were not nationwide, they may not reflect the national populations in each country. The World Health Organization has a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that is signed by 168 countries and calls for limits on advertising and marketing to children. The problem is in low and middle income countries, I don’t think there is good regulation, said Borzekowski. So even though the laws are on the books, they may not be adhered to. (Read: Natural remedies to quit smoking)

Tobacco endgame how are we going to do it?

The dust has barely settled on the recent International Conference on Public Health Priorities in the 21st Century: The Endgame for Tobacco which was held in India and had luminaries from all over the world including Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. A first of its kind in India, the international conference will focussed on developing multi-sectoral partnerships and taking tobacco control beyond health sector, integrating it with the global development goals and appropriate treatment under trade agreements and treaties. Despite effective, evidence-based tobacco control policies, reduction in smoking prevalence in developed countries has started to slow down and smoking continues to increase in many low-and middle income countries. This disturbing trend has sparked interest among public health experts to propose innovative and even dramatic endgame strategies to address the global tobacco epidemic. (Read: WHO chief Dr Margaret Chan slams industry for blocking tobacco law)

With India implementing a ban on gutka in 33 states and Union Territories, countries like New Zealand, Finland and Norway proposing to become tobacco-free within next three decades and Singapore and Tasmania proposing tobacco-free future generations by restricting sale of tobacco products to individuals born after the year 2000, an initiative towards an endgame for tobacco is springing in different regions of the world. With the World Health Assembly adopting a target of 30% relative reduction in tobacco use prevalence by 2025, the global narrative on tobacco control is increasingly exploring the concept of tobacco endgame , which envisions reducing tobacco prevalence and availability to minimal levels. But it s hard to see how they will do it as youngsters continue to be exposed to subtle surrogate advertising which urges them to light up soon.

Published : October 1, 2013 10:25 am

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