WHO plans to stop the younger generation from starting to smoke

Christina Mauer-Stender, head of the tobacco control project at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, noted that one in two smokers dies earlier, on average, by 15 years. She also stressed that if tobacco had only been discovered recently, it would never have been made legal.

But for 15-year-olds, the possibility of dying from lung cancer in the distant future hardly deters them from smoking a few cigarettes. According to Christina Mauer-Stender, the price of a bad habit can be compared to a trip to a supermarket where you can buy whatever you want and pay for it in 20 or 30 years.

In adolescence, the search for oneself, the formation of personality begins, and smoking can be associated with the image of a young man or woman that he or she has created for themselves. Smoking is a desire to distinguish oneself, to emphasize one's individuality or belonging to a certain group. And cigarette manufacturers very skillfully use this, creating in advertising the image of a smoker as a successful, strong and confident person.

Despite the fact that smoking among teenagers is decreasing in European countries, about 20% of young people continue to smoke, and the number of smoking girls in Eastern European countries has increased by 2%. As more and more women in Eastern Europe gain economic independence, cigarettes are becoming a symbol of liberation and freedom.

The World Health Organization intends to raise a tobacco-free generation of the new millennium to protect the health of children and adolescents. Experts note that the new generation has every chance of becoming free from tobacco addiction. In most European countries, which are large suppliers of tobacco, there is a decrease in the level of smokers. In Western European countries, the number of smokers is noticeably decreasing, especially among women, while in Eastern Europe, the number of women smokers is increasing.

As countries strive to achieve the ambitious goal of reducing the number of smokers by 30% by 2025, WHO aims to ensure that all children born since 2000 grow up on a continent where tobacco is rare and grow up free from the influence of tobacco, directly or indirectly.

In order to prevent the emergence of new smokers among the younger generation, WHO intends to apply the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Increasing taxes, and therefore prices on tobacco products, is an effective tool for reducing tobacco consumption, especially among the adolescent group, which is most susceptible to price changes.

The ban on tobacco advertising, the use of plain packaging and frightening images on them also helps reduce smoking among teenagers.

An example of how to prevent smoking among teenagers can be Finland, which decided to fight smoking at the legislative level. Thanks to the laws, children and teenagers grow up in a society where smoking is considered an immoral phenomenon.

The main goal of the state is to reduce the number of smokers among adults to 2% by 2040. For these purposes, Finnish laws provide for colorless packaging without indicating the manufacturer's brand, increased taxation, restrictions on smoking in public places and places of residence, private cars (if children are present), on playgrounds and attractions, on the beach. In addition, enterprises and localities are encouraged to introduce a smoking ban, the desire to quit smoking among the population is supported, the introduction of new types of tobacco products to the market is prevented, and the use of electronic cigarettes containing nicotine is regulated and smoking electronic cigarettes is prohibited where smoking is prohibited.

Christina Mauer-Stender said that smoking should be considered a serious addiction, not freedom from prejudice. Every country should protect its citizens from the dangers of smoking, and special attention should be paid to the younger generation, as they are more susceptible to developing nicotine addiction due to their biological characteristics.