No Tobacco Day: Youth soft target for alternative products
Deputy Health Minister Joe Phaahla says young people are more at risk of falling prey to aggressive marketing for harmful alternative tobacco products.
Phaalha delivered the keynote address at the department's commemoration of World No Tobacco Day, which is observed annually on May 31.
This year's commemorations take place under the global theme "Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing the tactics of the Tobacco and Nicotine Industry".
Here at home, the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Bill is currently before Parliament.
The Bill aims to address regulatory loopholes concerning alternative devices such as hookahs and e-cigarettes, among others.
Phaahla broke down the figures of products targeting young users: “There are well over 2600 types of e-cigarette liquids, 171 types of hardware, and more than 220 e-cigarette websites which are flooding the markets.”
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Phaahla says a recent study has revealed that one in every five high school pupils smokes e-cigarettes.
The department's focused on the "grooming" of young people by the tobacco industry, through advertising and the glamourisation of smoking, as well as the false marketing of alternative cigarette products as less harmful.
“These young people are being hooked on nicotine early, placing them at risk of anxiety, depression, poor school performance, and other long-term poor health consequences.”
World Health Organisation representative in South Africa, Shenaaz El-Halabi, described the growing use of tobacco and nicotine products as a global threat.
She says tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable deaths, claiming more than 8 million lives per annum, globally, while industries thrive and burden health systems.
“There is no safe tobacco product; not cigarettes, not hookahs, not treated tobacco, not e-cigarettes. Every product is harmful, addictive, and is designed to keep people addicted for profit.”
“In our region, over 146000 people die from tobacco-related causes every year, and more than 61 million currently use tobacco. Most concerning, adolescents aged 13-15, are increasingly becoming new users.”
Phaahla urged smokers to quit while they were ahead, adding that it was never too late to stop.
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