Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women:

Comprehensive tobacco control strategy vital

Manjari Peiris

The theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day which falls on May 31, 2010 is ‘Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women’.

There is increasing evidence that the tobacco industry is focusing its efforts on the marketing of tobacco to women globally. Therefore, in any comprehensive tobacco control strategy, controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women is considered as an important part. There is a need to establish a system for tracking globally the advertising, promotion and other marketing strategies used by the industry to target women.

The theme for World No Tobacco Day in 2010 is designed to draw a particular attention to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing towards women and girls. It also highlights the need for the nearly 170 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to ban all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship in accordance with their constitutions or constitutional principles.

Smoking population

Women comprise about 20 percent of the world’s smoking population, which are more than one billion smokers. However, the epidemic of tobacco use among women is increasing in some countries. Women are a major target of opportunity for the tobacco industry, which needs to recruit new users to replace the nearly half of the current users who will die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases.

Especially troubling is the rising prevalence of tobacco use among girls. Women and Health: today’s evidence, tomorrow’s agenda, the new report of the World Health Organisation testifies with evidence that tobacco advertising increasingly targets girls. Data from 151 countries show that about seven percent of adolescent girls smoke cigarettes as opposed to 12 percent of adolescent boys. In some countries, almost as many girls smoke as boys.

The World No Tobacco Day 2010 gives overdue recognition to the importance of controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women. As WHO Director-General Margaret Chan wrote in the aforementioned report, “protecting and promoting the health of women is crucial to health and development - not only for the citizens of today, but also for those of future generations.”

The WHO Framework Convention, which took effect in 2005, expresses alarm at “the increase in smoking and other forms of tobacco consumption by women and young girls worldwide.”

Tobacco use

Although the World No Tobacco Day 2010 campaign focuses on tobacco marketing to women, it also takes into account the need to protect boys and men from the tobacco tactics of tobacco companies.

As WHO pointed out in its 2007 report, Gender and Tobacco control: a policy brief, “Generic tobacco control measures may not be equally or similarly effective in respect to the two sexes, a gendered perspective must be included. It is therefore important that tobacco control policies recognize and take into account gender norms, differences and responses to tobacco in order to reduce tobacco use and improve the health of men and women worldwide”.

Tobacco use could kill one billion people during this century. Recognizing the importance of reducing tobacco use among women and acting upon that recognition, would save many lives.

Pregnant women

Smoking by pregnant women would cause damage in a different manner when compared with others. The damages of smoking by others will be gradual and it will take a couple of months or even years to know the intensity. But as far as a pregnant woman is considered, the damages will take place instantaneously due to the vulnerability of her body. The impact will be immediately felt and many times it may become too late before they can be rectified as the attack spreads very fast. You need to understand clearly “What can smoke do to pregnant women.”

Pregnant woman smoking is likely to risk her life and the life of her offspring. In many cases this happens only if the pregnant woman happens to be a chain smoker or an addictive smoker. In any case the health of the mother and the baby deteriorates. The offspring is also made to suffer due to the mother’s fault. The most common are the new born suffering from respiratory problem and other problems of the lung. Similarly by getting exposed to second hand smoke also a pregnant woman the damages and risks of affecting the child will be serious.

Less immunity power

When a pregnant mother smokes harmful chemicals like nicotine is deposited in the food pipe or the tube connecting the mother and the baby. This portion which is referred as placenta does not receive sufficient quantity of oxygen, food and water from the mother. As a result the growth of the baby is affected. The baby becomes weak and is also prone to acquire less immunity power.

Smoking can also result in premature birth. The smoke will destroy the sac containing the baby and it will break even before the labour period commences. The mother and the baby is exposed to profuse bleeding. Under these circumstances the gynaecologist will have no other option other than resorting to a caesarian surgery. Though it saves their life, the general health condition will be weakened. The post natal care will also be tough for the mother and the child.

Smoking not only affects a pregnant woman, but also it reduces the fertility. A woman who smokes is less likely to be pregnant when compared with a woman who does not smoke. As the health of the baby is affected in the mother’s womb the baby also becomes prone to infant mortality deaths. A baby born to a smoking mother is more likely to die when compared with the others. Due to the loss or reduction of immunity power these babies may suffer a lot even for common problems like cold flu and diarrhoea.

Selling tobacco products to women currently represents the single largest product marketing opportunity in the world. While marketing tobacco to women in the developing world is a relatively recent phenomenon, the industry benefits from 80 years of experience in enticing women in the developed countries to smoke.

Worldwide the tobacco industry uses false images of vitality, slimness, emancipation, sophistication and sexual allure to seduce unsuspecting women into a deadly addiction. However intelligent women now know that tobacco use leads to reproductive damage, disease and death. Only half uneducated women in the present day think it is cool to smoke.

Tobacco also finds its way into popular culture through exposure in films, television and music. Film stars portray tobacco use more frequently than is prevalent in society and overestimating the number of peers who smoke is a known risk factor for smoking.

Television also offers opportunities to show characters smoking, despite the existing advertising ban, in Sri Lanka film producers/directors and owners of television channels violate the law by showing smoking scenes, even by Sri Lankan actresses.

Asian market

Women and girls in Asia represent a vast untapped market for the tobacco industry. Transnational tobacco companies have continued to identify positive aspects of the Asian market. In Sri Lanka enticements of young women had been reported, especially at discos sponsored by the industry. According to a researcher some ‘golden girls’ had approached her and encouraged her; ‘go ahead - I want to see you smoke it now.’ When she refused that it would make her cough, the reply had been, ‘no, these are smoother, not so strong, and reassured, I want to see you smoke it now.’

The ‘Golden Girls’, who were believed to be fashion models, were dressed in gold coloured sarees and matching gold platform shoes. Throughout the night, the brand names flashed onto the walls of the disco with a laser beam as blaring music filled the room with the top ten dance hits from the West. The branded cigarettes were freely available from these models. The prize drawings included of key rings with cigarette brand names shirts and caps given out repeatedly during the evening.

Promotional items

To further popularize and normalize their product the industry hires young women to ‘hand out’ at popular shopping malls, on University campuses and on upscale commuter trains where they distribute free cigarettes and merchandize. Young women are also employed as drivers of famous cigarette brand cars and jeeps from which they distribute free cigarette samples and promotional items including hats, T-shirts and lighters. Notably these women are paid higher salaries than those typically earned by a university graduate.

In the inner world of the disco in China, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries, young women are invited to participate in behaviour associated with being modern, fashionable and Western. They are directly cajoled and challenged to smoke by glamorous, thin fashion models whose attire is at once traditional and modern. Thus young women are utilized as vehicles for product promotion rather than as overt participants in the behaviour. The connection between women and cigarettes is normalized through widespread and repeated exposure.

Amidst all these efforts, it is a blessing that the consumption of tobacco by the women of Sri Lanka at present is remarkably low which is still good news to all of us. The female population in Sri Lanka at present is 52 percent of the total population and their average lifespan are 77 years. The women outlive men by about four years; the reason could be largely attributable to their healthier and wise life styles at present.