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Fresh curbs on smoking

The news that concerted efforts are now being made to curb the silent, surreptitious killer which is tobacco smoking, is bound to be welcomed by the majority of the public.

One of our front page news reports said yesterday that new regulations would be introduced by the local health authorities, based on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to control smoking as well as the tobacco trade, which is flourishing worldwide, despite stepped-up awareness on the multifarious hazards of smoking.

Besides the well established link between smoking and a range of illnesses, including cancer, the dreaded, wasting disease, smoking is flourishing in Sri Lanka with 55 percent of our males, over the age of 12 years, believed to be indulging in the habit. The majority of these persons live below the poverty line and are, accordingly, miring themselves in poverty as well as courting grave health problems. The twin evils of poverty and ill-health could, therefore, be curbed if stringent measures are initiated against the habit of smoking.

To be sure, much headway has been made over the decades in raising public awareness on the gravity of smoking. A ban on advertising cigarettes over the media is continuing to hold and efforts to restrict smoking in most public places seem to be somewhat effective.

However, there seems to be more than meets the eye on this issue, for, as the statistics reveal, smoking is continuing to be quite widespread. Apparently, the alluring pull of cigarettes and cigars is persisting, particularly among the impressionable. What is thought-provoking about the smoking habit today is that it is proving less attractive among the Western industrialized countries but spreading with considerable ease among the countries of the Third World.

This could be attributed to the comparative ease with which tobacco multinationals operate in the poor countries. While governmental and legislative curbs are preventing tobacco companies from spreading their operations in the West, their functions are less restricted in the Third World. This is the reason why Third World governments, such as our's, need to press ahead with curbs on the tobacco trade in particular and on smoking in general. Besides, much more needs to be done by way of public awareness-raising. For instance, most sections of this country's public do not seem to be aware or don't seem to be sufficiently opposed, to the newest marketing strategies of tobacco firms.

Today, the latter exploit sports events and the arts, for instance, to popularise their death-inviting wares. By allowing tobacco interests to invade these areas, the concerned sections seem to be acting as conduits for the popularising of the smoking habit.

Strict curbs also need to be imposed on the sale of cigarettes. For instance, in the West, the sale of cigarettes to children is banned. We too need to follow suit and lay down the same restrictions.

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