On Friday, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) hosted a special stakeholder conversation with the theme of “Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference” in honor of World Tobacco Day.
In his presentation, Syed Ali Wasif Naqvi, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Outreach at SDPI, stated that, according to data from 2022, over 37 million teenagers worldwide, ages 13 to 15, use tobacco products. Within this age range, 11.5 percent of boys and 10.1 percent of girls in the WHO European Region smoke. Notably, youth use of nicotine patches and electronic cigarettes is rising; in the European Region, 12.5% of adolescents used e-cigarettes in 2022, up from 2% in the previous year.
According to Naqvi, the numbers from Pakistan are even more concerning because over 1200 children there start using tobacco products every day, and because nicotine and electronic cigarettes are widely available in schools, colleges, and universities.
He claimed that the tobacco business targeted young people in an effort to make up for the millions of consumers who quit or die each year. According to him, the industry uses social media and streaming platforms to advertise to children and teenagers with tempting items.
According to Dr. Amina Khan, Executive Director of The Initiative, 1,200 children in Pakistan between the ages of 6 and 15 begin smoking every day, while one in three persons who use tobacco die from it. Ten is when two out of every five adult smokers first light up.
