Names are countries where there are more women smokers than men who smoke
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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WHO experts found that marketing strategies lead to an increase in the number of women smokers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that ingenious marketing strategies lead to an increase in smokers among women and girls in Europe. It is no coincidence that the theme of the World Day for Quitting in 2012, which was celebrated the day before, was the methods used by the tobacco industry, the UN News Center reported.
To date, in European countries, according to WHO estimates, 22% of women smoke. In this part of the world, the highest average prevalence of smoking among women. While earlier smoking was mostly a male phenomenon, today the gap in the number of addicted to smoking between adult men and women in countries such as Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom is very small, and in other countries it is decreasing. In Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia and Croatia, there are more girls than boys among smokers.
"The habit of smoking is usually in adolescence, and the tobacco industry shamelessly benefits from the vulnerability of girls of this age, choosing them as their target as new victims of tobacco dependence," the WHO Regional Director for Europe said. As the purchasing power of girls and women grows, the industry represents smoking as a symbol of empowerment, emancipation and success.
WHO drew attention to the growing number of smoking women in the Russian Federation, where "effective" targeted marketing campaigns were applied. For example, in 2009 in the Russian edition of a well-known international magazine for women and girls, a woman with a cigarette appeared and a man behind her. Experts believe that this campaign contributed to a 117% increase in the use of tobacco among women, and the brand introduced in advertising became the most popular among women in the country.
In some countries, awareness of the dangers of smoking for health is inadequate. Prices for tobacco products are low, the usual practice is to sell unlicensed products. Such misleading terms as "light" and "soft" are used. Almost 19% of adults in Romania are sure that light cigarettes are safer than usual, and about 18% in Poland believe that one type of cigarette is less harmful than another.
Tobacco companies use "viral" marketing, social networking, mobile communication, benefiting from the enormous potential of new media to bring marketing messages to children and young people. In France, the study showed that in three quarters of French films the main character smokes.
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