Novel Tobacco Products Pose a Danger to Young People, and Industry Marketing Techniques Remain Predatory and Must Be Called out, Say International Respiratory Societies
May 29, 2024
GLENVIEW, IL - On World No Tobacco Day 2024 (May 31), the Forum of International
Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the American College of Chest
Physicians (CHEST) is a founding member, is drawing attention to the
dangers that novel tobacco products pose to children and young
people, alongside calling out the predatory marketing techniques of
the tobacco industry, which is looking to secure lifetime consumers
of their products.
Evidence suggests that novel tobacco products have negative impacts
on respiratory health. The emergence and growth of such products
raise health concerns for individuals of any age, with some specific
concerns identified for the younger population.
Increasing evidence shows that novel tobacco and nicotine products
constitute gateways to nicotine addiction and the initiation of
smoking among youth. A recent review of 189 studies on vaping and
e-cigarettes concluded that youths who do not smoke but use
e-cigarettes have a substantially higher likelihood of starting
smoking.
“The brains of children and adolescents are uniquely vulnerable to
the effects of nicotine, and they face an increased risk of nicotine
addiction. The earlier an individual begins smoking, the more likely
they are to continue smoking later in life,” says Filippos
Filippidis, Chair of the Tobacco Control Committee of the European
Respiratory Society. “Tobacco products are particularly damaging to
young people. Lungs continue to develop throughout childhood and
adolescence and, therefore, are more vulnerable to the negative
effects of novel and traditional tobacco products.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the tobacco
industry has stated previously that younger adults are the only
source of replacement people who smoke, noting that high school age
children are the base of their business.
The WHO also notes that the tobacco industry spends on average $23
million a day on marketing and increasingly uses digital and social
media platforms to target younger markets. Social media influencers
who reach and engage children and adolescents are employed as brand
ambassadors and are offered financial incentives to promote tobacco
products. One study showed that posts featuring 100 hashtags
associated with tobacco companies had been viewed more than 25
billion times.
“With the evidence and dangers that tobacco products pose to our
children clear to see, the marketing techniques used to promote such
products must be called out and prevented,” says Filippidis.
“Appealing flavours, bright colors, and advertisements, both direct
and indirect, such as product placement in films and social media,
can be particularly appealing to young people, and they do play a
significant role in steering adolescents toward nicotine addiction.
They need to be prohibited.”
About the American College of Chest Physicians
The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) is the global
leader in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest
diseases. Its mission is to champion advanced clinical practice,
education, communication, and research in chest medicine. It serves
as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for
its 22,000+ members from around the world who provide patient care
in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For information
about the American College of Chest Physicians, and its flagship
journal CHEST®,
visit chestnet.org.
About the Forum of International Respiratory Societies
The
Forum of International Respiratory Societies
(FIRS) is an organization comprised of the world's leading
international respiratory societies working together to improve lung
health globally. The goal of FIRS is to unify and enhance efforts to
improve lung health through the combined work of its more than
70,000 members globally.
FIRS comprises the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST),
American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Asian Pacific Society of
Respirology (APSR), Asociación Latinoamericana de Tórax (ALAT),
European Respiratory Society (ERS), International Union Against
Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Pan African Thoracic
Society (PATS), the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), and the
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD).
Information referenced in this statement can be found in the
publications below: