thisyear’sobservanceofworldnotobaccodayfocuseson\"genderandtobacco,withanemphasisonmarketingtowomen”.
althoughfewerthan1outof10womenaresmokers,thatstilladdsuptoanestimated200millionwomenaroundtheworld.moreover,thatnumbercouldgrow,sincethetobaccoindustryisspendingheavilyonadvertisementsthattargetwomenandassociatetobaccousewithbeautyandliberation.
accordingtoarecentstudybytheworldhealthorganization(who),thenumberofgirlsandboyswhosmokedwasaboutequalinhalfthe151countriessurveyed.thisfindingisevenmoreworrisomesinceyoungpeoplewhosmokearelikelytocontinueinadulthood.
evidenceindicatesthattheprevalencerateoftobaccouseamongwomenisontheriseinsomecountries.governmentseverywheremusttakeactiontoprotectwomenfromtobaccoadvertising,promotionandsponsorship,asstipulatedinthewhoframeworkconventionontobaccocontrol.
theconventionalsocallsongovernmentstoprotectwomenfromsecond-handtobaccosmoke—especiallyincountrieswherewomenfeelpowerlesstoprotectthemselvesandtheirchildren.aswhodatashow,ofthe430,000adultswhodieeachyearfromsecond-handsmoke,nearlytwothirdsarewomen.
aroundtheworld,morethan1.5millionwomendieeachyearfromtobaccouse.mostofthesedeathsoccurinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.withoutconcertedaction,thatnumbercouldriseto2.5millionwomenbytheyear2030.