Tobacco Addiction’s survival in the 21st Century
Tobacco pandemic has survived for centuries now. Tobacco kills half of all lifetime users. Tobacco is the leading cause of death in the world. Ever since people started smoking, there was enough evidence to suggest that smoking is dangerous and addictive.
Tobacco and tobacco products are more regulated today. Tobacco Companies have lost countless lawsuits and are forced to add warning on their products. There is growing evidence that the tobacco industry has known all along that smoking is harmful but continued to market and sell them.
Despite all the great efforts to prevent tobacco usage, tobacco industry continues to make billions of dollars every year. The damage caused by tobacco products numbers in trillions of dollars of health expenses, environmental damages and millions of invaluable lives.
So How is Tobacco still persisting after all the efforts to control it in the 21st Century?
Currently, most of the countries have laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to any person who is under18 years of age (this age can vary from 16–21 depending on the country). This law is expected to prevent juveniles from getting addicted to Tobacco products but there is a major loophole here.
Nearly 9 out of 10 smokers start before age 18. It is crystal clear from this fact that most smokers start smoking illegally before the age of 18. Majority of them become addicted to smoking by the time they reach the age of 18 and are free from the legal barriers that were created to prevent them from smoking or using tobacco products.
This loophole is disturbing and needs to be addressed with utmost priority. We need control measures that not only restrict the usage of tobacco until a certain age but restrict them from using tobacco for the rest of their future. This loophole can be eliminated by prohibiting the usage of tobacco products by anyone born on or after a particular date instead of the age limit. This date can be based on the current legal age of tobacco usage in the country.
For example, if the amendment is implemented on 2nd October 2021,
The new regulation could state that-
“No person shall sell, offer for sale, or permit the sale of, cigarette or any other tobacco product to any person who is born on or after 2nd October 2003 (year can be decided based on the current tobacco prevention laws of the country). Any individual born on or after the given date will be prohibited from being in possession of any tobacco product.”
The year could be simply calculated by subtracting the current legal age from the year of implementation (2021–18 years = 2003).
In simple words:
“Anyone who is below the legal age of tobacco consumption on the day of the amendment will be prohibited from using tobacco products for the rest of their future.”
This regulation unlike a complete ban could be a more practical approach towards ending the tobacco pandemic. It does not prohibit the usage for people who are already allowed to use tobacco products. It only focuses on protecting current youth and future generations who are most vulnerable to fall for tobacco products.
After this regulation is imposed, no matter what age the current juveniles reach, tobacco will always be prohibited for them. The best way forward for current youth and juveniles would be to never start or try any tobacco products or quit it immediately if they have already fallen for this addiction.
The tobacco pandemic has killed more people from smoking than from murder, aids, suicide, car crashes, and alcohol combined. The same regulation can be similarly applied to the usage of alcohol. Alcohol is highly dangerous for the health and addictive. It has destroyed countless lives and has always been a bad influence on youth and society.
This regulation is the need of the hour. It can take the role of a vaccine towards ending the Tobacco Pandemic. The time has arrived for international organizations to work collectively towards ending the tobacco pandemic without letting it ruin any more precious lives!
Hoping to see a day when the world lives a healthy, happy, and prosperous addiction-free lifestyle!
