[afro-nets] Marketing death!

[Ahmed Saleem <asaleem@pcpak.org>]

Marketing death!
----------------
 
Dear Colleagues, 
 
Please find enclosed my latest article published in daily "The 
News":
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/may2004-daily/31-05-2004/oped/opinion.htm
on "No Tobacco Day".
 
 
Ahmed Saleem
Senior Communication Officer
Population Council (Pakistan Office)
House No. 7, Street 62
F-6/3, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-227-7439 Ext: 114
Fax: +92-51-282-1401
mailto:asaleem@pcpak.org
 
 
Marketing death!
----------------
 
By Ahmed Saleem
 
"Four million unnecessary deaths per year, 11,000 every day. It 
is rare - if not impossible - to find examples in history that 
match tobacco's programmed trail of death and destruction. I use 
the word programmed carefully. A cigarette is the only consumer 
product which when used as directed kills its consumer." 
 
- Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General Emeritus, World 
Health Organisation
 
 
To the tune of 99,000 deaths occur in Pakistan annually due to 
tobacco use. During the year 2003, tobacco use claimed some 5 
million lives across the globe, and in view of the current ra-
tio, it is feared that by the year 2030 the figure may reach 10 
million annually, seven million of which in developing coun-
tries. This is huge loss of life. The loss of money is even dev-
astating. Of the 1.2 billion smokers worldwide, 800 million are 
in developing countries. Half the people that smoke today -that 
is about 600 million people- will eventually be killed by to-
bacco.
 
The smoking prevalence rate in Pakistan is 49 per cent of the 
total adult population. Indeed the consumption is growing faster 
among the youth. Unknown to many developing-country governments 
that welcome these foreign "investments", tobacco spells bad 
economics for their countries. Government of Pakistan spends 
huge amount in treating tobacco-related diseases and/or suffer-
ing from the loss of their active workers, who can no longer 
support their families. Tobacco is expected to be the largest 
cause of death worldwide in next 30-years.
 
In tobacco growing countries, like Pakistan, any profits bypass 
the country's economy and enrich instead the transactional. 
Cheap labour is exploited and fertile land tied up when it could 
be producing food. The industry takes advantage of the lack of 
legislations and markets products with high tar contents and ad-
ditives that have longer been outlawed in developed world. Ag-
gressive advertising and promotion strategies are hooking mil-
lions of the world's poor into a habit that will force them to 
spend a huge proportion of their income on cigarettes and add 
smoking related illnesses to an already heavy burden of dis-
eases.
 
Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease world-
wide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating. 
In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-
caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their 
productivity, depriving families of breadwinners and nations of 
a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive 
while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report 
estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global 
net loss of US$ 200,000 million, a third of this loss being in 
developing countries.
 
Public awareness of tobacco's harmful effects is essential to 
lay the foundations for acceptable tobacco control policies and 
regulations. The Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) of WHO works to 
ensure that tobacco remains in the public consciousness by fund-
ing anti-tobacco media campaigns and workshops undertaken by lo-
cal, national and international groups. "World No Tobacco Day", 
celebrated around the world on 31 May each year, is the culmina-
tion of TFI's advocacy activities. Pakistan is very much part of 
the campaign by joining the Framework Convention on Tobacco Con-
trol (FCTC) on 18 May 2004.
 
Latest studies have revealed that tobacco promotion is one of 
the major causes of increased tobacco consumption. Although the 
tobacco industry knows this, it continues to indulge in its un-
ethical marketing practices promoting its produces to all sec-
tions of the society. Some young people think that smoking will 
calm their nerves and give them confidence. Others might feel 
that smoking makes them look and feel grown up. Some young peo-
ple smoke because they think it helps them cope with stress, 
boredom, unhappiness, fear, anxiety and other problems.
 
Young women who are unhappy about their appearance often take up 
smoking because they believe it makes them more attractive. They 
may use smoking as a tool to control weight. Young people may 
think that smoking only causes problems for old people. This is 
not true. And the bad news is that if you start smoking young, 
you are more likely to smoke heavily and less likely to quit. 
This means that you are more likely to develop serious health 
problems from smoking. The behaviour of their peer group and 
role models can affect the behaviour of a young person. Having 
enough spare cash to afford to buy cigarettes is also a factor 
in whether or not people smoke.
 
As the world is moving towards more liberal global trend, the 
tobacco industry is booming in many developing countries like 
Pakistan, where there are no laws designed to regulate and moni-
tor their activities. There is also an enhanced competition 
among the tobacco producers in Pakistan resulting in low prices, 
more marketing, more traps for smokers, and related stimulating 
activities which boost the demand for their products.
 
The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars for the promo-
tion of cigarettes in Pakistan and around the world. Static and 
visuals advertisements are designed such a way that the slogans 
and specific appeals trap the youth, which is their target 
group. Slogans like "Capstan men demand Capstan the world over", 
"Diplomat enhances the taste", "Gold Flake together in success", 
and "Gold Leaf for the taste alone", attract the youth like any 
thing.
 
Tobacco companies know this well and direct their advertisements 
and promotion towards young people. Internal tobacco industry 
documents disclosed in 1998 make clear that for decades the in-
dustry has systematically targeted children as an important mar-
ket, carefully studying their smoking habits and developing 
products and marketing campaigns aimed at them. Sponsorships of 
popular sports like, motor racing, cricket and football are 
among the most common examples. By sponsoring individual sports-
man or woman, sporting events and teams, the companies establish 
a link at a subliminal level between their products and health 
and athletic prowess.
 
Tobacco kills a smoker every 8 seconds in the world - in order 
to maintain its market; the industry must constantly recruit new 
smokers. The advertising and promotion of tobacco products are 
focused mainly on young people, who the tobacco industry sees as 
the source of replacement smokers. Some of the countries like 
Australia, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Singa-
pore, Thailand and Turkey recognized the increasing threat of 
tobacco consumption and have imposed bans on all kinds of promo-
tion of the tobacco products. The European Union aims to phase 
out all types of tobacco promotion by the year 2006. But coun-
tries like Pakistan, dependent on the perceived economic gains 
from the tobacco industry, are still deliberating on how to 
tackle the issue focusing on the economic argument rather than 
its health impact.
 
Effects of smoking are devastating on developing countries. 
There are 1.3 billion people in developing countries. Living on 
less than a dollar per day, smoking makes them even poorer. 
Cigarettes can cost a smoker about 25% of his income. Smoking 
two packets a day can siphon off about 30 % of a poor man's in-
come in Pakistan. A poor man in China can spend 60% of his in-
come on smoking. Of course this takes away income badly needed 
for more basic needs for the family. And should he become inca-
pacitated, he loses the ability to bring in the income. If he 
dies due to smoking related disease, his family loses its bread-
winner altogether.
 
It has been well recognised that combating a multi-faceted prob-
lem like that of tobacco requires concerted action on several 
fronts at the same time. It is neither feasible nor useful for 
the Ministry of Health to undertake such a problem on its own. 
The plan of action for Tobacco Free Pakistan should outline a 
strategy that involves different sectors and a host of govern-
mental departments and NGOs. The smoking epidemic is much seri-
ous for Pakistan. It has already claimed lives over the years 
and caused untold misery and suffering to millions. And it has 
robbed our government of precious resource. This epidemic has 
affected around 22 million people in Pakistan. This epidemic has 
a vector and it takes political will to destroy the vector. It 
is our responsibility to convince our government to put tobacco 
control as top priority and to illustrate that tobacco generates 
poverty and ill health all around.
 
The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist with devel-
opment and communication background.