The importance of tobacco control on children's health and development

A new one report of the World Health Organization (WHO)[1] highlights the health risks posed by tobacco to children, particularly infants and young children, and the strong protective effect of tobacco control measures. It calls for awareness among decision-makers of the importance of proven tobacco control measures to protect children's health and development, including banning tobacco advertising, establishing smoke-free places and increasing tobacco taxes.

There are more than 1.1 billion regular smokers worldwide, and each year 8 million people die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases. According to a new report According to WHO, second-hand smoke kills an estimated 1.2 million people each year, and 65,000 of these preventable deaths are among children under 15.[2]. Tobacco damages children's health in a variety of ways. In utero, they may be exposed to secondhand smoke when the mother directly uses tobacco or is exposed to secondhand smoke herself. Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke can lead to birth defects, premature birth, stunted growth, and stillbirth. After birth, exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of neonatal and infant death and respiratory tract infections. In addition, early exposure to tobacco smoke increases the likelihood that a child will become a smoker later in life. Children whose parents smoke are nearly 70% more likely to try smoking by age 15[3].

Comprehensive and comprehensive tobacco control policies are essential for young children

Based on international treaties, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child[4], there is a consensus that every child should have the right to grow up protected from the harmful health effects of tobacco. Children, especially when they are young, are entirely dependent on the decisions made by adults regarding exposure to tobacco and second-hand smoke. Tobacco control policies can help guide these decisions. Various measures go in this direction: public information on the dangers of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, support for smoking cessation, banning smoking in public places and in cars, reducing parental smoking by reducing the attractiveness and accessibility of tobacco products through price increases and marketing restrictions, etc.

Tobacco tax increases are considered the most effective measure to reduce smoking prevalence. Yet only 14% of the world's population live in countries where tobacco taxes are at WHO recommended levels.[5].

The introduction of completely smoke-free places represents the most appropriate provision to protect children's health from exposure to passive smoking. This last measure is strongly supported by the entire population, non-smokers and smokers alike. Evaluation of experiences of introducing complete smoking bans in places of collective use shows significant reductions in premature births and hospitalizations for asthma and serious respiratory tract infections.[6]Despite the effectiveness of these measures, only 62 countries had implemented such comprehensive legislation as of 2019.

The authors of the report recall the other consequences of smoking for children. Tobacco use, particularly among young people, poses major risks to the health and development of current and future generations. The additional burden on families and health systems hinders the economic development of countries, threatens the Sustainable Development Goals and increases inequalities. The authors of the study also call on policy makers to remain vigilant about the potential consequences of new tobacco products such as heated tobacco, which are aggressively marketed to children and adolescents. They also warn of the consequences of the marketing deployed by manufacturers aimed at young people for the distribution of vaping products.

Keywords: WHO, Children, Health, Tobacco control,

©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] World Health Organization. (‎2021)‎. Tobacco control to improve child health and development: thematic brief. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/340162. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO [2] Global Burden of Disease Study [online database]. Seattle, United States: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; 2018 [3] Laverty AA, Filippidis FT, Taylor Robinson D, Millett C, Bush A, Hopkinson NS. Smoking uptake in UK children: analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Thorax. 2019;74:607–10. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-212254. [4] UNICEF. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. London: UNICEF UK; 1990 [5] WHO. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2019: offer help to quit tobacco use. Geneva: WHO; 2019 [6] Hone T, Szklo AS, Filippidis FT, Laverty AA, Satamini I, Been JV et al. Smoke-free legislation and neonatal and infant mortality in Brazil: longitudinal quasi-experimental study. Tob Control. 2020;29(3):312-9. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-054923. National Committee Against Smoking |