World No Tobacco Day: How we can protect children from this deadly habit

Adolescents are most vulnerable to being initiated into tobacco use; about per cent of tobacco users get into the habit before the age of 1 when the body and the brain are especially at risk of addiction.

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According to a World Bank report, every day, between 82,000 and 99,000 children and adolescents across Earth take up smoking. In India alone, more than 50,000 children take their first puff every day.

Over the years, developed nations have recognised the risks of cigarettes and there has been a drastic reduction in smoking. But in developing countries, tobacco companies have been able to outwit vulnerable populations with aggressive marketing strategies. Direct, indirect, and surrogate marketing has been the norm of these companies. Glamorous projections of their products lure the young. Hence, the 2024 theme for the World No Tobacco Day is "Protecting children from tobacco industry interference".

WHY KIDS GET ADDICTED

There is adequate scientific evidence that children exposed to smoke tend to smoke themselves in the future. Recent research shows that even one cigarette can prime a child's brain for nicotine addiction. Chewable forms of tobacco are known to deliver nicotine three to four times higher than cigarettes, making them more addictive.