Danger that children are exposed to smoking

Education process is extremely important in sustaining the progress in tobacco control. Many tax or legislative interventions would have no result if people would not support, understand and ask for good changes in their lives.

Everybody understands how important is to reduce youth smoking. In countries like Japan, Argentina, Nigeria, India, and the Russian Federation 87 % of respondents agreed with the international efforts to establish certain regulations and rules to stop the tobacco usage.

Schools play a big role in teaching the children about the damages that smoking could bring to their health. They also can teach students to develop refusal skills regarding smoking. Some analyses were made and it was discovered that young people believe they would become smart, cool and fashionable.

One first step with these programs at school is to increase the number of persons who realize the danger that children are exposed to. It is also for changing intentions, attitudes and beliefs. But only this won’t change the entire society and their behavior.

A school tobacco control program must not allow the usage of cigarette smoking or other tobacco use at school events and facilities. By this way they will help staff and students to quit smoking. The tobacco industry in the last years became active in smoking prevention programs for young people. These programs show how smoking is an adult thing and teens have to wait until they are grown ups to take the decision of smoking.

Whole global tobacco

Tobacco is grown for centuries in over 125 countries, it can be found on over 4 million hectares of land and a third part of all of these hectares is in China alone. The whole global tobacco crop is worth almost US $20 billion, which represents a small fraction of the total amount that is coming from the sale of already produced tobacco products. Tobacco is grown on less than one percent of the world’s agricultural land, and on a very large variety of climates and soils.

In 1960’s the bulk of production started to move to Africa and Asia from America. But there still remained some land in USA, Mexico and Canada dedicated tobacco growth. But in United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi and China the tobacco growth almost doubled.

The production of tobacco leaves has more than doubled since the 1960s, in total almost 7 million metric tons in 2000. A large usage of fertilizers and pesticides and a very good mechanization have lead to damage of the environment.

The problem is not ending with growing tobacco: the processes used in curing tobacco leaves cause massive deforestation. In the whole world are millions of tobacco farmers. Tobaccoindustry is very interesting. Because there is a problem between tobacco manufactures and tobacco control programs they decided to develop a partnership between public health community and farmers.