Discouraging Smoking Tobacco Products

Discouraging Smoking
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Discouraging Smoking
Tobacco products are responsible for 6% of the global deaths annually, more than any single disease and it is projected that by the year 2020, the mortality rates will rise to between 11% in the developing world and 18% in the developed world. It is estimated that the world has about 1.3 billion smokers and smoking is the major contributor towards chronic diseases such as cancer. In the US, smoking contributes to almost 20% of all deaths annually (Parrinello et al., 2015). Statistics also show that more than 17% of people with mobility impairments in the United States are smokers (Borelli, Busch & Dunsiger, 2014). The impact of tobacco on global diseases is huge since it is the probable cause of more than 25 diseases. About a third of the world population aged over 15 years smoke, with male smokers in developing countries numbering to over 700 million. 40 % of adults in the Asian countries of China, Indonesia and India as well as a large population in South America are current smokers. Many users of tobacco products smoke cigarettes while others use cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, shisha and others. These statistics paint a grim picture on the impact of smoking on human life and calls for adequate measures to combat the use of tobacco. The world’s poorest countries record the highest consumption of tobacco products. The fact that smoking rate is higher in poor people especially in developing countries with an estimate of 80% of all smokers draws much attention to the whole issue of smoking.
There is much pressure from governments and other social agencies on tobacco and liquor organizations to reduce smoking and drinking among their customers. Governments have implemented certain strategies such as “DE marketing strategies” as an attempt of encouraging smokers to quit smoking. Moore (2005) defines DE marketing as “that aspect of marketing that deals with discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or permanent basis.” Some of these strategies emphasise on creation of social norms whose aim is to educate people that smoking is harmful to one’s health and is an irresponsible and undesirable behaviour in the society. Other strategies are the current campaigns by various governments increasing taxes on tobacco and its related products to discourage its consumption (Cebula, Foley & Houmes, 2014).
Studies from developing economies demonstrate a higher prevalence of smoking among young adults. One study from India found out that 45% of students in Karnataka have used tobacco and its related products. Another study revealed that 20% of young adults smoke. These studies demonstrate that age is a contributing factor to with students being the most likely group to adopt the smoking behavior. There are other factors such as social and educational environments and the degree of social tolerance in students that contribute to smoking.
This paper attempts to propose intervention strategies that are required to discourage smokers, who are more at risk of tobacco related diseases and from who the youths copy the behaviour. These strategies aim t...