From the WHO website:
'The global campaign will debunk myths and expose devious tactics employed by these industries. It will provide young people with the knowledge required to easily detect industry manipulation and equip them with the tools to rebuff such tactics, thereby empowering young people to stand up against them. This is especially important right now as studies show that smokers have a higher risk for a severe case of coronavirus. WHO calls on all young people to join the fight to become a tobacco-free generation.'
https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day/world-no-to...
HIFA and CHIFA stand ready to collaborate with WHO and others in this campaign, especially in relation to debunking myths, exposing devious tactics, and empowering people with knowledge. With regards to knowledge, we should not assume that the issue is confined to young people's ability to 'easily detect industry manipulation'. Previous research has shown also that there is a lack of basic knowledge about the health risks of smoking, especially among youth and older people in low- and middle-income countries. Even in high-income countries there are many deficits in public knowledge about smoking. In some countries this has been partly addressed by the inclusion of graphic clinical photos on cigarette packets, but these are yet to be introduced in most LMICs.
With minimal funding (£3-5k for 1 year) HIFA and CHIFA are ready to start a new project to address these issues as part of our work on non-communicable diseases. Contact me: neil@hifa.org
Here are the citation and selected extracts of an editorial in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health:
CITATION: #TobaccoExposed
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health - Editorial| volume 4, issue 6, p407, june 01, 2020
Published:June, 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30141-3
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Tobacco use kills more than 8 million people every year, 1 million of them from second-hand smoke exposure. For World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2020, WHO is launching a new global anti-tobacco campaign that, for the first time, will be youth focused. The initiative — #TobbaccoExposed — is billed as a counter-campaign against tthe systematic and agressive tactics used by the tobacco industry to hook a new generation of users. WHO is calling on young people to join the fight against Big Tobacco and aims to empower them through knowledge about industry manipulation...
The tobacco industry is targeting young people in LMICs to replace those dying from smoking-related causes...
The tobacco industry... spends around US$8 billion a year on product marketing and advertising...
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Best wishes, Neil
Let's build a future where children are no longer dying for lack of healthcare information - Join CHIFA (Child Healthcare Information For All): http://www.hifa.org/forums/chifa-child-health-and-rights
CHIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is the coordinator of the HIFA campaign (Healthcare Information For All) and assistant moderator of the CHIFA forum. Twitter: @hifa_org FB: facebook.com/HIFAdotORG neil@hifa.org
