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Tobacco Free Initiative |
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Key areas and groups Women Why women? Why now? WHO statistics show that the number of women smoking will triple over the next generation with more than 200 million women dying prematurely from tobacco induced diseases. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, about 10 percent of women smoke compared to 50 percent of men. Use of smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco, is highest among women in south Asia where 10 to 50 percent of women of reproductive age are users. In developed and developing countries the smoking epidemic is increasing fastest among women, particularly young women. This is particularly noteworthy in countries such as Denmark, Germany and the United States where young women aged 14 to 19 now smoke. In Asian countries, such as Singapore, even with strong tobacco control policies, and an overall decrease in smoking, there is an increase among young women aged 18 to 24. More studies are needed on why this is a global trend and on effective strategies to prevent the rising prevalence. In 1930, lung cancer was very rare among American men and women. In 1987, it surpassed breast cancer as a cause of death in women and by 1999, it accounted for one-quarter of all deaths in the United States. The risk of coronary heart disease is increased among women smokers who use oral contraceptives. Among postmenopausal women, current smokers have lower bone density than nonsmokers and have increased risk of hip fracture. Smoking is spreading quickly and we have to move now to tell women and girls everywere that it is not cool; it is not freedom; It is death. The developed countries tried smoking after being deceived with all kinds of false arguments. We do not need to follow the same path. We have seen the cancer rate raise there we have seen the suffering. We do not want to repeat the model. Our real freedom and power and independence are in being healthy, are in enjoying our lives, in living to be happy. In the early 1980s it was proved that the trend of using tobacco is rising among women, especially in the developing world. It is not getting any better. In the late 1980s Kuwait was listed among the countries with the highest number women smokers worldwide. In Egypt new statistics now show that 10% of women use tobacco, and according to the Egyptian Doctors' Association 16% of female students in universities use tobacco, while in Jordan nearly 20% of women smoke, either shisha or cigarettes. These are really alarming figures.Women are widely solicited by the tobacco industry. Advertising messages extolling the feminine ideal in accordance with the sociocultural values of countries are becoming general. The persuasion aimed at a category of the population that is traditionally su[pported to be preoccupied with its physical appearance and role in society, is increasingly convincing. From the industry’s point of view, the results of this marketing approach are gratifying. The figures do indeed show a rise in smoking among women in most parts of the world, with the exception of a few developed countries where prevalence is beginning to regress, although still lagging behind the decline among the male population. Increasing numbers of young women are taking to smoking, as a sign of emancipation or a demonstration of their equality with men. It is thus highly probable that this aggressive marketing approach vis-a-vis this target group will be intensified in the future. It is now acutely urgent to react rapidly to counteract this deceitful advertising that associates smoking with images of seduction, slimness, elegance, physical fitness and emancipation. Many women, moreover, are unaware of the risks they incur or to which they subject their children by exposing them to cigarette smoke.
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