Refuting myths about tobacco and smoking<\/p>\n
Is it true tobacco controls will cost thousands of jobs? Find out
\nthe answer to this and other questions by examining some of the
\nmyths and facts surrounding tobacco and smoking:
\n* Myth: Most Indonesians smoke.
\nFact: The majority of Indonesian adults do not smoke.<\/p>\n
Most Indonesian do not smoke. About 31.8 percent of Indonesian
\nadults were smokers in 2001, and the vast majority of smokers are
\nmen.<\/p>\n
There is an alarming increase in the proportion of children
\ntrying tobacco products. Children are influenced by advertising
\nand films that associate smoking with happiness and success, and
\nthey can easily buy cigarettes. This increase may be attributable
\nin part to intensive marketing and advertising campaigns by the
\ntobacco industry, particularly after TV advertising was permitted
\nin 1990, and the marketing of single sticks of cigarettes for as
\nlow as Rp 300.<\/p>\n
Advertising and promotion of tobacco products, and tobacco
\nindustry sponsorship of sports and cultural events, encourages
\nchildren and youth to experiment with tobacco by creating an
\nenvironment where tobacco use is normal, familiar and acceptable.
\n* Myth: Tobacco controls will lead to thousands of job losses.
\nFact: The proportion of formal workers who rely on tobacco for
\ntheir jobs is a small part of the labor force.<\/p>\n
The number of Indonesian farmers involved in growing tobacco
\nfull time is equivalent to about 1 percent of the total
\nagricultural labor force, and less than 1 percent of arable land
\nis devoted to tobacco farming.<\/p>\n
In 2000, workers in the tobacco industry comprised about 5.6
\npercent of the total number of people employed in the
\nmanufacturing sector, and less than 1 percent of the workers in
\nthe industry sector.<\/p>\n
Declines in tobacco consumption in industrialized countries
\ndemonstrated that change in demand for tobacco is gradual and the
\neffect on tobacco farming is not immediate.<\/p>\n
In the U.S., tobacco farmers were not put out of work by
\ndecreasing smoking rates, but rather the children of tobacco
\nfarmers were less likely to go into tobacco farming than were
\ntheir parents.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, such a decline generally follows overall
\ndeclines in the proportion of people working in the agricultural
\nsector compared with increased employment in the industrial and
\nservices sectors.<\/p>\n
The reality, however, is that the number of smokers is
\nincreasing. Assuming no change in prevalence, the World Health
\nOrganization predicts the number of smokers globally will
\nincrease from 1.1 billion (1999) to 1.8 billion by the year 2025.
\nThus, the immediate economic need is to reduce the increase in
\ntobacco use and people's dependence on an addictive substance.
\nResources spent on tobacco products could be switched to other
\ncommodities that do not result in long-term health damage.
\n* Myth: Research about the health risks of tobacco is
\ninconclusive.
\nFact: More than 70,000 scientific articles have conclusively
\ndemonstrated that tobacco use and exposure to passive
\n(environmental) tobacco smoke is harmful to the health.<\/p>\n
About one-half of long-term smokers die of their habit during
\nmiddle age, cutting 20 to 25 years off a healthy life. More than
\n70,000 scientific articles have conclusively demonstrated that
\ntobacco use causes cancers of the mouth and lung, in addition to
\nmany other types of cancers, heart disease, hypertension and
\nother respiratory diseases.<\/p>\n
Independently funded research has demonstrated that clove
\ncigarettes contain 60 percent to 70 percent tobacco, and
\ntherefore possess all of the health risks of other tobacco
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
In evaluating the quality of the research findings, it is very
\nimportant to investigate the source of its funding. The tobacco
\nindustry has commissioned it own research that must be viewed in
\nlight of the industry's conflict of interest in promoting tobacco
\nproduct sales. Contrary to independently funded research, tobacco
\nindustry-sponsored studies have found that clove cigarettes are
\nbeneficial to the health.<\/p>\n
The research community, however, has dismissed these findings
\nbecause of the tobacco industry's conflict of interest in
\npromoting their own products and generating additional sales.
\nU.S. researchers have reported that tobacco-sponsored research
\nhas been edited to omit findings that conflict with the goal of
\npromoting tobacco use, such as excluding the term \"cancer\".
\n* Myth: Prohibiting smoking in public violates smokers' rights.
\nFact: Smoking in public places violates the rights of non-smokers
\nto clean air and imposes physical and financial costs on others.<\/p>\n
An individual's decision to smoke affects other people. The
\nhealth risks of passive smoking are high. Maternal smoking OR
\nmaternal exposure to passive smoke during pregnancy is associated
\nwith an increased risk of low birth weight, spontaneous abortion,
\nstillbirths and complications during labor.<\/p>\n
Nonsmokers married to smokers have a 25 percent to 35 percent
\nincreased risk of lung cancer, and those exposed to heavy smokers
\nfor the longest time had the highest risks. Nearly all Indonesian
\nsmokers (91.8 percent) smoke at home, and there are no clean air
\nlaws for most public places. Particularly among children, the
\neffect of passive smoke can cause lasting health damage via
\nincreased incidence of pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, ear
\ninfections and reduced lung capacity.
\n* Myth: Smokers themselves make their own informed decisions
\nabout how to spend their money, with an understanding of the
\nrisks of tobacco use.
\nFact: Most people start smoking when they are children or
\nadolescents.<\/p>\n
The average age of smoking initiation among smokers in
\nIndonesia is 18.4 years. Most smokers start their habit early in
\nlife, and children and teenagers do not have the capacity to
\nevaluate the health risks of smoking or the addictiveness of
\nnicotine.<\/p>\n
In fact, a Global Youth Survey in Jakarta in 2000 found that
\n43.9 percent of students between the ages of 11 and 13 had smoked
\ncigarettes, and about 20 percent smoked regularly. Despite the
\nfact that smokers who quit can reduce their health risks, very
\nfew succeed because they do not understand the highly addictive
\nnature of nicotine. Among students aged 11 to 13 who smoked
\nregularly, 83 percent wanted to stop smoking but could not.<\/p>\n
-- Anhari Achadi and Soewarta Kosen<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/refuting-myths-about-tobacco-and-smoking-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }