A decision to impose a 100 per cent tax on bills at restaurants that serve shisha has ignited criticism on social media in Saudi Arabia, where the water pipes are a popular pastime.

The furore has also been fuelled by confusion over how the tax is applied.

In the meantime, some restaurants have stopped offering shisha, while others have lowered their prices to appease customers.

The government's official gazette said earlier this month that the tax will apply to all tobacco products.

However, the ruling from the ministry of rural and municipal affairs said it will apply "to the total invoice of the business serving tobacco products".

A number of restaurants and cafes contacted by AFP said they believed that the tax applies to all table orders in any establishment that serves tobacco products, whether or not the order included shisha.

The decision sparked an avalanche of criticism on social media networks where the Arabic hashtag "tax on hookah restaurants" is trending in the kingdom.

Many people posted photos of their restaurant bills, with totals of more than double the initial amount when taking into account the new 100 per cent tax and a still-unpopular five per cent value-added tax which went into effect last year.

"Tobacco tax, controversy and confusion," read a headline in the Al-Madina newspaper on Monday.

In the face of persistent budget deficits, the world's top crude oil exporter has resorted to measures like cutting subsidies on fuel and power and imposing new taxes including on cigarettes and soft drinks.

There were also suggestions that the new shisha tax could be a measure to protect public health.

"This is an indirect way to prohibit shisha without actually prohibiting it," tweeted Electronic Lawyer, a popular commentator who has more than 80,000 followers.

Other Twitter users said the new decision goes against the country's Vision 2030 ambitions to change its ultra-conservative image and revamp the economy.

Encouraging investment and kickstarting tourism is part of a reform programme envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the kingdom off its reliance on oil.

Saudi columnist Bassam Fatiny criticised the size of the tax as ill-considered.

"Let us assume that tax on tobacco has environmental and health benefits, is it logical that it be 100 per cent!" he said on Twitter. "The ministry must have misunderstood Vision (2030)."

A decision to impose a 100 per cent tax on bills at restaurants that serve shisha has ignited criticism on social media in Saudi Arabia, where the water pipes are a popular pastime.

A decision to impose a 100 per cent tax on bills at restaurants that serve shisha has ignited criticism on social media in Saudi Arabia, where the water pipes are a popular pastime. The furore has also been fuelled by confusion over how the tax is applied. In the meantime, some restaurants have stopped offering shisha, while others have lowered their prices to appease customers. The government's official gazette said earlier this month that the tax will apply to all tobacco products. However, the ruling from the ministry of rural and municipal affairs said it will apply "to the total invoice of the business serving tobacco products". A number of restaurants and cafes contacted by AFP said they believed that the tax applies to all table orders in any establishment that serves tobacco products, whether or not the order included shisha. The decision sparked an avalanche of criticism on social media networks where the Arabic hashtag "tax on hookah restaurants" is trending in the kingdom. Many people posted photos of their restaurant bills, with totals of more than double the initial amount when taking into account the new 100 per cent tax and a still-unpopular five per cent value-added tax which went into effect last year. "Tobacco tax, controversy and confusion," read a headline in the Al-Madina newspaper on Monday. In the face of persistent budget deficits, the world's top crude oil exporter has resorted to measures like cutting subsidies on fuel and power and imposing new taxes including on cigarettes and soft drinks. There were also suggestions that the new shisha tax could be a measure to protect public health. "This is an indirect way to prohibit shisha without actually prohibiting it," tweeted Electronic Lawyer, a popular commentator who has more than 80,000 followers. Other Twitter users said the new decision goes against the country's Vision 2030 ambitions to change its ultra-conservative image and revamp the economy. Encouraging investment and kickstarting tourism is part of a reform programme envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the kingdom off its reliance on oil. Saudi columnist Bassam Fatiny criticised the size of the tax as ill-considered. "Let us assume that tax on tobacco has environmental and health benefits, is it logical that it be 100 per cent!" he said on Twitter. "The ministry must have misunderstood Vision (2030)."

Saudi Arabia's new 100% shisha tax sparks fury

China, the world's largest tobacco market, may introduce rules for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/world-health-organization-says-e-cigarettes-undoubtedly-harmful-238779">e-cigarette industry</a> as early as next month amid growing health concerns and reports that some products contain toxic elements, state media reported.

The e-cigarette market in China, which has over 300 million smokers, is still considered less developed compared with other nations. However, dozens of domestic manufacturers such as Relx, Yooz and SNOW+ have taken tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding.

The regulations would cover <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-administration-seeks-ban-on-flavoured-e-cigarettes-to-combat-youth-addiction-249109">e-cigarette devices</a>, packaging and the liquids that are used in them, the semi-official China News Service reported on Monday, citing an unnamed source.

The report comes at a time when several other countries are taking steps to tighten regulations in the industry. Last week, India banned the sale, production and importing of e-cigarettes, while South Korea advised citizens to avoid vaping after reports of related illnesses in the United States.

Vaping has only been around for a decade or so, and the sudden outbreak of acute cases has surprised scientists who have been studying the long-term effects of the practice.

Several countries including Australia, Brazil and Japan have banned or have limited aspects of the e-cigarette market. The United States has announced plans to remove flavoured e-cigarettes from stores.

Last week, U.S. e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc said its products had been removed from major Chinese e-commerce websites Tmall, which is run by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and JD.com, just days after entering the China market.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged federal regulators last week to immediately remove all pod and cartridge-based e-cigarettes from the market until it can be proven the products are safe.

Many lawmakers have cited health experts who say flavours such as mint from popular e-cigarette companies have caused the surge in youth vaping.

China's National Health Commission said in July that studies indicate that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/us-to-ban-all-flavoured-e-cigarettes-249640">e-cigarette components</a> contain toxic elements and that some additives pose health risks, according to the China News Service report.

The regulations have been under development since October 2017, the report said.

China, the world's largest tobacco market, may introduce rules for the e-cigarette industry as early as next month amid growing health concerns and reports that some products contain toxic elements, state media reported.

China, the world's largest tobacco market, may introduce rules for the e-cigarette industry as early as next month amid growing health concerns and reports that some products contain toxic elements, state media reported. The e-cigarette market in China, which has over 300 million smokers, is still considered less developed compared with other nations. However, dozens of domestic manufacturers such as Relx, Yooz and SNOW+ have taken tens of millions of dollars in venture capital funding. The regulations would cover e-cigarette devices, packaging and the liquids that are used in them, the semi-official China News Service reported on Monday, citing an unnamed source. The report comes at a time when several other countries are taking steps to tighten regulations in the industry. Last week, India banned the sale, production and importing of e-cigarettes, while South Korea advised citizens to avoid vaping after reports of related illnesses in the United States. Vaping has only been around for a decade or so, and the sudden outbreak of acute cases has surprised scientists who have been studying the long-term effects of the practice. Several countries including Australia, Brazil and Japan have banned or have limited aspects of the e-cigarette market. The United States has announced plans to remove flavoured e-cigarettes from stores. Last week, U.S. e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc said its products had been removed from major Chinese e-commerce websites Tmall, which is run by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and JD.com, just days after entering the China market. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged federal regulators last week to immediately remove all pod and cartridge-based e-cigarettes from the market until it can be proven the products are safe. Many lawmakers have cited health experts who say flavours such as mint from popular e-cigarette companies have caused the surge in youth vaping. China's National Health Commission said in July that studies indicate that e-cigarette components contain toxic elements and that some additives pose health risks, according to the China News Service report. The regulations have been under development since October 2017, the report said.

China may roll out e-cigarette rules amid global vaping backlash

Thailand rolled out plain cigarette packaging on Tuesday, the first country in Asia to introduce what activists say is an effective way to reduce the appeal of smoking.

In 2012 Australia became the first country to require tobacco products to be sold without colourful brand logos. Since then a host of mostly European countries have followed suit, including France, Hungary, and the UK.

Thailand agreed last year to comply with the World Health Organisation guidelines, and packs officially showed up in stores Tuesday.

Businesses have until December 8 to phase out stocks before facing fines of up to 40,000 baht ($1,300).

The standardised packaging includes a graphic picture of tobacco's effects on the body and the logo-free brand name written in plain font.

Keeping a uniform typeface below graphic depictions of smoking-related illnesses will make the products less attractive to buyers, said Prakit Vathesatogkit, vice-chair of the NGO Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.

"For non-smokers, for kids, they are less likely to start," Prakit, who was involved in advocacy efforts, told AFP.

There are more than 246 million cigarette smokers in Southeast Asia, where campaigners say low prices help make it one of the largest tobacco-consuming regions in the world.

In Thailand, the health impact is huge and smoking-related illnesses are a leading cause of death.

Singapore is set to implement similar restrictions on packaging next year.

Thailand rolled out plain cigarette packaging on Tuesday, the first country in Asia to introduce what activists say is an effective way to reduce the appeal of smoking.

Thailand rolled out plain cigarette packaging on Tuesday, the first country in Asia to introduce what activists say is an effective way to reduce the appeal of smoking. In 2012 Australia became the first country to require tobacco products to be sold without colourful brand logos. Since then a host of mostly European countries have followed suit, including France, Hungary, and the UK. Thailand agreed last year to comply with the World Health Organisation guidelines, and packs officially showed up in stores Tuesday. Businesses have until December 8 to phase out stocks before facing fines of up to 40,000 baht ($1,300). The standardised packaging includes a graphic picture of tobacco's effects on the body and the logo-free brand name written in plain font. Keeping a uniform typeface below graphic depictions of smoking-related illnesses will make the products less attractive to buyers, said Prakit Vathesatogkit, vice-chair of the NGO Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. "For non-smokers, for kids, they are less likely to start," Prakit, who was involved in advocacy efforts, told AFP. There are more than 246 million cigarette smokers in Southeast Asia, where campaigners say low prices help make it one of the largest tobacco-consuming regions in the world. In Thailand, the health impact is huge and smoking-related illnesses are a leading cause of death. Singapore is set to implement similar restrictions on packaging next year.

Thailand first in Asia to roll out plain cigarette packaging

Health ministry has asked all state governments in the country not to partner with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) because of its links to tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

Established in 2017, the FSFW focuses on eliminating the usage of cigarettes and works towards smoking cessation using new technologies and alternative products. It says it works independently, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are "clear conflicts" due to the $80 million in annual funding the foundation receives from Philip Morris.

At least three Indian anti-tobacco groups earlier this year wrote to the federal health ministry in New Delhi calling for the rejection of any possible partnerships with FSFW, according to copies of their representations seen by Reuters.

Health ministry has sent a letter, dated June 24, to chief secretaries of all states, saying they should not partner with FSFW and also advised other departments and institutions in their region accordingly.

The ministry said Philip Morris was funding FSFW as well as manufacturing and promoting harm-reduction smoking devices. Reuters has previously reported Philip Morris has plans to launch its iQOS smoking device in India which it says is less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

"Any collaboration with the Foundation for a Smoke Free World should be avoided in the larger interest of Public Health," a senior health ministry official, Sanjeeva Kumar, wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which is led by former WHO official Dr&nbsp;Derek Yach, said it "operates with complete independence from Philip Morris" and was committed to full transparency about who its funders were.&nbsp;

Philip Morris, which has a stated longer-term vision to replace cigarette sales with products such as its iQOS device, in a statement, said FSFW was "an independent body governed by its own independent Board of Directors".&nbsp;

Tobacco in India

In recent years, the Indian government has intensified its tobacco-control efforts, raising cigarette taxes and ordering companies to print bigger health warnings on cigarette packs.

India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China, and more than 900,000 people die each year in India due to tobacco-related illnesses.

A federal health ministry official said on Sunday the letter on FSFW had been sent as a preventive measure to dissuade states from any collaboration with the foundation, and similar instructions were likely to be sent to other federal ministries.

The FSFW said there were no projects with any state government institutions in India. "We seek partnerships with all who share our goal to end smoking in the world," a spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.&nbsp;

In May, FSFW said its team was committed to working with others "to accelerate an end to smoking in this generation" in India. It also invited people to study its strategic plan.

That same month, Philip Morris in a press statement said it had urged the Indian government to create a regulatory environment for devices such as its iQOS.

When the FSFW was launched in 2017, the WHO had said it will not partner with the foundation and asked governments around the world and public health communities to follow the agency's lead.

Health ministry has asked all state governments in the country not to partner with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) because of its links to tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

Health ministry has asked all state governments in the country not to partner with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) because of its links to tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc, a letter seen by Reuters showed. Established in 2017, the FSFW focuses on eliminating the usage of cigarettes and works towards smoking cessation using new technologies and alternative products. It says it works independently, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are "clear conflicts" due to the $80 million in annual funding the foundation receives from Philip Morris. At least three Indian anti-tobacco groups earlier this year wrote to the federal health ministry in New Delhi calling for the rejection of any possible partnerships with FSFW, according to copies of their representations seen by Reuters. Health ministry has sent a letter, dated June 24, to chief secretaries of all states, saying they should not partner with FSFW and also advised other departments and institutions in their region accordingly. The ministry said Philip Morris was funding FSFW as well as manufacturing and promoting harm-reduction smoking devices. Reuters has previously reported Philip Morris has plans to launch its iQOS smoking device in India which it says is less harmful than conventional cigarettes. "Any collaboration with the Foundation for a Smoke Free World should be avoided in the larger interest of Public Health," a senior health ministry official, Sanjeeva Kumar, wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters. The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which is led by former WHO official Dr Derek Yach, said it "operates with complete independence from Philip Morris" and was committed to full transparency about who its funders were. Philip Morris, which has a stated longer-term vision to replace cigarette sales with products such as its iQOS device, in a statement, said FSFW was "an independent body governed by its own independent Board of Directors". Tobacco in India In recent years, the Indian government has intensified its tobacco-control efforts, raising cigarette taxes and ordering companies to print bigger health warnings on cigarette packs. India has 106 million adult smokers, second only to China, and more than 900,000 people die each year in India due to tobacco-related illnesses. A federal health ministry official said on Sunday the letter on FSFW had been sent as a preventive measure to dissuade states from any collaboration with the foundation, and similar instructions were likely to be sent to other federal ministries. The FSFW said there were no projects with any state government institutions in India. "We seek partnerships with all who share our goal to end smoking in the world," a spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters. In May, FSFW said its team was committed to working with others "to accelerate an end to smoking in this generation" in India. It also invited people to study its strategic plan. That same month, Philip Morris in a press statement said it had urged the Indian government to create a regulatory environment for devices such as its iQOS. When the FSFW was launched in 2017, the WHO had said it will not partner with the foundation and asked governments around the world and public health communities to follow the agency's lead.

India asks states not to partner with foundation funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris International

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Sunday clarified that they have not written any letter to the Center to facilitate introducing a ban on khaini, consumption of which causes a number of serious ailments.

Pandey said they are against the consumption of gutkha and khaini, found to be the major causes of mouth cancer, but have not asked the Centre for its prohibition.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's government has written to the Ministry of health requesting it to bring&nbsp;khaini&nbsp;under the list of food products. Once it has been notified as a food product by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the government will have the power to impose a ban on it on health grounds. 
 
The consumption of&nbsp;khaini&nbsp;is responsible for a number of serious ailments, including mouth cancer and ailments affecting the lungs and the cardio-vascular system, the state's principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar said.

The Health Minister further appealed to the people of the state to stop the consumption of gutkha and khaini.

According to a recent media report, the state government wrote to the Union Health Ministry, urging it to notify khaini as a food product. Upon notification, the state government can ban the product on health grounds.

According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, any food product which has the presence of tobacco and nicotine in it, has to be banned.

According to the World Health Organisation's Global Adult Tobacco Survey,&nbsp;khaini&nbsp;consumers formed 20 per cent of the total population in 2016-17.

Two years earlier, the Bihar government had banned the sale and consumption of liquor in the state.&nbsp;

Pandey said they are against the consumption of gutkha and khaini, found to be the major causes of mouth cancer, but have not asked the Centre for its prohibition

Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Sunday clarified that they have not written any letter to the Center to facilitate introducing a ban on khaini, consumption of which causes a number of serious ailments. Pandey said they are against the consumption of gutkha and khaini, found to be the major causes of mouth cancer, but have not asked the Centre for its prohibition. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's government has written to the Ministry of health requesting it to bring khaini under the list of food products. Once it has been notified as a food product by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the government will have the power to impose a ban on it on health grounds. The consumption of khaini is responsible for a number of serious ailments, including mouth cancer and ailments affecting the lungs and the cardio-vascular system, the state's principal secretary (health) Sanjay Kumar said. The Health Minister further appealed to the people of the state to stop the consumption of gutkha and khaini. According to a recent media report, the state government wrote to the Union Health Ministry, urging it to notify khaini as a food product. Upon notification, the state government can ban the product on health grounds. According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Act, any food product which has the presence of tobacco and nicotine in it, has to be banned. According to the World Health Organisation's Global Adult Tobacco Survey, khaini consumers formed 20 per cent of the total population in 2016-17. Two years earlier, the Bihar government had banned the sale and consumption of liquor in the state.

Khaini not to be banned in Bihar, says Health Minister

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asserted that the state of Andhra Pradesh houses the highest number of citizens who smoke tobacco in Southern India.&nbsp

About 10.1 per cent of people who use various forms of tobacco products in Andhra Pradesh are women, observed the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-2016-17.Of the 10.1 per cent, 4.6 per cent of women smoke cigarettes and beedis, 6.5 per cent use smokeless tobacco like khaini and others. While cigarettes are the most preferred form of tobacco among women in the State, beedi and khaini followed next.

The findings of the survey also noted that 89.5 per cent of adults in the State noticed that the anti-tobacco campaign helped in reducing the usage of tobacco.

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“About 80 per cent of adults in the State don’t use tobacco in any form. Of the 20 per cent who use tobacco products, 14.2 per cent smoke tobacco in various forms and 7.1 per cent use smokeless tobacco. About 1.4 percent people use both forms. The awareness campaigns have helped in bringing the tobacco usage down,” explained Dr Nilesh Gawde, assistant professor from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which conducted the survey.

The study found that 14.2% of the people in Andhra smoke, compared to India's national average at 10.7%.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asserted that the state of Andhra Pradesh houses the highest number of citizens who smoke tobacco in Southern India. About 10.1 per cent of people who use various forms of tobacco products in Andhra Pradesh are women, observed the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS)-2016-17.Of the 10.1 per cent, 4.6 per cent of women smoke cigarettes and beedis, 6.5 per cent use smokeless tobacco like khaini and others. While cigarettes are the most preferred form of tobacco among women in the State, beedi and khaini followed next. The findings of the survey also noted that 89.5 per cent of adults in the State noticed that the anti-tobacco campaign helped in reducing the usage of tobacco. There are around one billion smokers in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) https://t.co/NWUFB7w3es pic.twitter.com/fMBOApUhWq — AFP news agency (@AFP) May 30, 2018 × “About 80 per cent of adults in the State don’t use tobacco in any form. Of the 20 per cent who use tobacco products, 14.2 per cent smoke tobacco in various forms and 7.1 per cent use smokeless tobacco. About 1.4 percent people use both forms. The awareness campaigns have helped in bringing the tobacco usage down,” explained Dr Nilesh Gawde, assistant professor from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which conducted the survey.

Andhra has highest number of smokers in south India, tobacco study finds

World No Tobacco Day is celebrated each year on 31st May. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2018 is "Tobacco and heart disease." It will focus on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide.

World No Tobacco Day 2018 coincides with a range of global initiatives and opportunities aimed at addressing the tobacco epidemic and its impact of public health, particularly in causing the death and suffering of millions of people globally, WHO says.&nbsp;

Despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low.

Tobacco also has carbon monoxide, which blends with haemoglobin in the blood more easily than oxygen does, thus affecting the oxygen supply in the body.

The carbon monoxide prevents the blood system from effectively carrying oxygen around the body, specifically to vital organs such as the heart and brain, the experts said, adding that apart from regular smokers, those who inhale the smoke passively may also be at risk.

According to a recent study published in The Journal of Physiology, smoking could directly damage the muscles by reducing the number of blood vessels in leg muscles, which in turn reduce the amount of oxygen and nutrients the muscles receive.

This may impact the metabolism and activity levels.

Moreover, smoking also affects both male and female fertility, doctors said.

Every minute, smokers get through nearly 11 million cigarettes and 10 die from the habit, in an industry that generates billions of dollars.

There are around one billion smokers in the world, about a seventh of the global population, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and other estimates.

China has the highest number: From its population of 1.3 billion, about 315 million are smokers and they consume more than a third of the world’s cigarettes, the WHO said in a report last year. Indonesia has the highest proportion of smokers at 76% of men aged over 15 years.

About 80% of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries and 226 million of them are considered poor.

The global tobacco epidemic kills more than 7 million people each year, of which close to 900 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. Nearly 80% of the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.

Quitting is the best way, the experts said while discouraging the use of alternatives like e-cigarettes. Other measures like clinical interventions, counselling and behavioural therapies can help people quit tobacco abuse.

World No Tobacco Day 2018 aims to highlight the links between the use of tobacco products and heart and other cardiovascular diseases, increase awareness within the broader public of the impact tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke have on cardiovascular health.

It aims to provide opportunities for the public, governments and others to make commitments to promote heart health by protecting people from use of tobacco products.&nbsp;

World No Tobacco Day 2018 will focus on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide

World No Tobacco Day is celebrated each year on 31st May. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2018 is "Tobacco and heart disease." It will focus on the impact tobacco has on the cardiovascular health of people worldwide. World No Tobacco Day 2018 coincides with a range of global initiatives and opportunities aimed at addressing the tobacco epidemic and its impact of public health, particularly in causing the death and suffering of millions of people globally, WHO says. Despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low. Tobacco also has carbon monoxide, which blends with haemoglobin in the blood more easily than oxygen does, thus affecting the oxygen supply in the body. The carbon monoxide prevents the blood system from effectively carrying oxygen around the body, specifically to vital organs such as the heart and brain, the experts said, adding that apart from regular smokers, those who inhale the smoke passively may also be at risk. According to a recent study published in The Journal of Physiology, smoking could directly damage the muscles by reducing the number of blood vessels in leg muscles, which in turn reduce the amount of oxygen and nutrients the muscles receive. This may impact the metabolism and activity levels. Moreover, smoking also affects both male and female fertility, doctors said. Every minute, smokers get through nearly 11 million cigarettes and 10 die from the habit, in an industry that generates billions of dollars. There are around one billion smokers in the world, about a seventh of the global population, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and other estimates. China has the highest number: From its population of 1.3 billion, about 315 million are smokers and they consume more than a third of the world’s cigarettes, the WHO said in a report last year. Indonesia has the highest proportion of smokers at 76% of men aged over 15 years. About 80% of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries and 226 million of them are considered poor. The global tobacco epidemic kills more than 7 million people each year, of which close to 900 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. Nearly 80% of the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. Quitting is the best way, the experts said while discouraging the use of alternatives like e-cigarettes. Other measures like clinical interventions, counselling and behavioural therapies can help people quit tobacco abuse. World No Tobacco Day 2018 aims to highlight the links between the use of tobacco products and heart and other cardiovascular diseases, increase awareness within the broader public of the impact tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke have on cardiovascular health. It aims to provide opportunities for the public, governments and others to make commitments to promote heart health by protecting people from use of tobacco products.

World No Tobacco Day 2018 to be celebrated tomorrow, focus on 'Tobacco and heart disease'

Nationalist Congress Party or NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Sunday that he regretted consuming tobacco and supari, adding that he wished someone had warned him to get rid of the life-threatening habit 40 years ago.

Pawar, a cancer survivor, was speaking in Mumbai at the launch of the Indian Dental Association&#39;s (IDA) mission to eradicate oral cancer by 2022.

The former Union agriculture minister said he suffered tremendously because of surgery, the removal of teeth and the resulting difficulty in opening his mouth wide, in swallowing food as well as talking.

He said he was pained that lakhs of Indians continued to fall prey to the scourge and promised to raise the issue in Parliament.

Pawar also pledged support to the Indian Dental Association&#39;s cause of eradicating oral cancer and curbing the menace of tobacco usage.

The event was held to commemorate the World Oral Health Day.

Pawar also pledged support to the Indian Dental Association's cause of eradicating oral cancer and curbing the menace of tobacco usage

Nationalist Congress Party or NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Sunday that he regretted consuming tobacco and supari, adding that he wished someone had warned him to get rid of the life-threatening habit 40 years ago. Pawar, a cancer survivor, was speaking in Mumbai at the launch of the Indian Dental Association's (IDA) mission to eradicate oral cancer by 2022. The former Union agriculture minister said he suffered tremendously because of surgery, the removal of teeth and the resulting difficulty in opening his mouth wide, in swallowing food as well as talking. He said he was pained that lakhs of Indians continued to fall prey to the scourge and promised to raise the issue in Parliament. Pawar also pledged support to the Indian Dental Association's cause of eradicating oral cancer and curbing the menace of tobacco usage. The event was held to commemorate the World Oral Health Day.

Wish someone warned me against tobacco usage 40 years ago: Sharad Pawar

The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold a lower court&#39;s order that quashed central government rules mandating larger health warnings on tobacco packages, in a setback for the country&#39;s $11 billion tobacco industry.&nbsp;

The High Court of Karnataka state last month struck down central government rules requiring 85 percent of a tobacco pack&#39;s surface to be covered in health warnings, up from 20 percent earlier. The rules had been in force since 2016.

The Supreme Court, which heard petitions brought forward by tobacco-control activists, stayed the Karnataka court&#39;s order on Monday, citing the need to protect the health of citizens.

&quot;Health of a citizen has primacy and he or she should be aware of that which can affect or deteriorate the condition of health,&quot; the Supreme Court said in its 13-page order.&nbsp;

&quot;Deterioration may be a milder word and, therefore, in all possibility the expression &#39;destruction of health&#39;&nbsp;is opposite.&quot;

The court&#39;s decision comes as a relief for health advocates and central health ministry who say bigger health warnings deter tobacco consumption. More than 900,000 people die each year in India due to tobacco-related illnesses, the government estimates.

India&#39;s tobacco packaging rules are among the world&#39;s most stringent. A government survey last year found that 62 percent of cigarette smokers thought of quitting because of such warning labels on the packets.

The court&#39;s decision is a blow to cigarette makers such as India&#39;s ITC Ltd and Philip Morris International Inc&#39;s Indian partner, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, whose representatives call the rules extreme. In protest at the health warning measures, the industry briefly shut its factories across the country in 2016 and filed dozens of legal cases.

On Monday, both central health ministry officials and tobacco industry executives were in attendance inside a packed courtroom to hear the proceedings which lasted for about 40 minutes. The three judges took time to look over examples of health warning pictures used on cigarette packs.

Kapil Sibal, a lawyer who argued for the industry, urged the court to reduce the size of tobacco pack warnings. At one point, he cited the absence of health warnings on a glass of whisky to argue against such displays on tobacco products.

The attorney general of India, K. K. Venugopal, defended the government&#39;s stringent rules, saying they were &quot;one of the most progressive&quot; steps to protect the health of people.

The case will next be heard on March 12. 
&nbsp;

The Supreme Court stayed the Karnataka court`s order on Monday

The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold a lower court's order that quashed central government rules mandating larger health warnings on tobacco packages, in a setback for the country's $11 billion tobacco industry. The High Court of Karnataka state last month struck down central government rules requiring 85 percent of a tobacco pack's surface to be covered in health warnings, up from 20 percent earlier. The rules had been in force since 2016. The Supreme Court, which heard petitions brought forward by tobacco-control activists, stayed the Karnataka court's order on Monday, citing the need to protect the health of citizens. "Health of a citizen has primacy and he or she should be aware of that which can affect or deteriorate the condition of health," the Supreme Court said in its 13-page order. "Deterioration may be a milder word and, therefore, in all possibility the expression 'destruction of health' is opposite." The court's decision comes as a relief for health advocates and central health ministry who say bigger health warnings deter tobacco consumption. More than 900,000 people die each year in India due to tobacco-related illnesses, the government estimates. India's tobacco packaging rules are among the world's most stringent. A government survey last year found that 62 percent of cigarette smokers thought of quitting because of such warning labels on the packets. The court's decision is a blow to cigarette makers such as India's ITC Ltd and Philip Morris International Inc's Indian partner, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, whose representatives call the rules extreme. In protest at the health warning measures, the industry briefly shut its factories across the country in 2016 and filed dozens of legal cases. On Monday, both central health ministry officials and tobacco industry executives were in attendance inside a packed courtroom to hear the proceedings which lasted for about 40 minutes. The three judges took time to look over examples of health warning pictures used on cigarette packs. Kapil Sibal, a lawyer who argued for the industry, urged the court to reduce the size of tobacco pack warnings. At one point, he cited the absence of health warnings on a glass of whisky to argue against such displays on tobacco products. The attorney general of India, K. K. Venugopal, defended the government's stringent rules, saying they were "one of the most progressive" steps to protect the health of people. The case will next be heard on March 12.

'Health of a citizen has primacy': Supreme Court for larger tobacco health warnings in India

Zimbabwe&rsquo;s financial system increasingly resembles a house of cards. Were one card to give way &ndash; for instance, if South Africa&rsquo;s power utility, Eskom, were to have the temerity to suggest that Zimbabwe actually pays for the electricity that it&rsquo;s supplying the country &ndash; the entire edifice would collapse.

To put it another way, the government is a bust. It is again printing money to cover its spiralling costs, and inflation is rising. And given that there&rsquo;s an election looming in 2018, Zimbabwe&rsquo;s ruling party, ZANU-PF doesn&rsquo;t want to cut-back. Far from it, it wants to carry on spending, as fast as it can.

The rot goes back to the early 2000&rsquo;s. ZANU-PF profligacy had been fuelled by a&nbsp;continuous cycle of simply printing more money and resultant runaway inflation. Mega-inflation meant that ordinary people lost their pensions and whatever savings they had, as the Zimbabwe dollar lost its value and people resorted to barter or the use of other currencies.

Ultimately, the government faced no choice but to accept reality. In 2008 it scrapped the Zimbabwe dollar in favour of a basket of other currencies, although within a short time, this meant in effect the reign of the US dollar.

&ldquo;Dollarisation&rdquo; allowed for the pursuit of more rational policies by the coalition Government of National Unity which followed the disputed 2008 election. However, its control of the electoral machinery ensured that ZANU-PF won a resounding victory in the 2013 election. Within a short space of time, it returned to its familiar policy mix of profligacy, corruption and populist economics.

Yet ZANU-PF faced major problems. Above all, &ldquo;dollarisation&rdquo; meant that the cost of Zimbabwe&rsquo;s exports on international markets was high. Worse, the dramatic collapse in agricultural production since the early 2000s (following the appropriation of white farms) alongside the decimation of the country&rsquo;s manufacturing industries meant that there was relatively little to export anyway. Tobacco production has recovered a little, but the quality is less than it used to be, so returns are relatively less.

Meanwhile, government insistence that mines should be 51 per cent&nbsp;Zimbabwean owned has done nothing to entice inward investment or boost exports.

In short, the capacity of the economy to earn US dollars by selling goods externally has fallen dramatically, and the supply of money circulating within the country has dried up. Unemployment stands at around 90 per cent.

President Robert Mugabe&rsquo;s latest response has been to replace finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who had been warning of the structure&rsquo;s fragility in ever more urgent tones. The new finance minister is Ignatius Chombo, a party loyalist, who will brook no talk of any need for structural reform.

The bond notes

Faced with a looming crisis, the ZANU-PF government has resorted to three key strategies.

One has been the issue of &ldquo;bond notes&rdquo; (of different denominations) by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Officially, they&rsquo;re designed to swell the amount of money in circulation within the country. The problem is that apart from having no value outside the country, nobody trusts them as they have been issued by a ZANU-PF government, and it was this government that presided over the hyperinflation.

ZANU-PF&rsquo;s announcement that it was issuing bond notes was met with a run on the banks as depositors sought to withdraw dollars as fast as they could. Their assumption was that this was a government ploy to reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe responded by limiting the number of dollars individuals could withdraw.

People are reluctant to use the bond notes. But they&rsquo;re still sometimes forced to accept them because of the sheer shortage of &ldquo;real&rdquo; money. As a result, when they can, they rush off to the local bus station where they can sell them for dollars to currency traders &ndash; albeit illegally.

The second strategy has been the rapid expansion of country&rsquo;s ability to manage electronic transactions. Its aim has been to expand the amount of money in circulation without using up &ldquo;real&rdquo; dollars.

Accordingly, government employees are now largely paid electronically. Similarly, government employees (and everyone else) now pay nearly all their bills within the country electronically.

And Zimbabweans are rarely able to convert the notional sums of dollars they hold in the bank into real cash &ndash; unless they make use of the currency traders in illegal transactions.

Meanwhile, with the rate of inflation continuing to rise combined with the widespread lack of faith in the banks, many Zimbabweans spend their bank balances on consumer goods as quickly as possible rather than attempting to &ldquo;save&rdquo;. After all, if times get hard, you won&rsquo;t be able to get rid of your bond notes, but you may be able to sell your fridge.

Fanciful financial system

But it&rsquo;s the third strategy which the government has pursued which is really fuelling a fanciful financial system.

Since 2013, government expenditure has steadily increased year by year, despite the country earning very little internationally. The ZANU-PF government may have hoped to fund this by its old trick of literally printing money, that is, by expanding the supply of bond notes.

But such was the negative popular sentiment that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe seems to have restricted their issue. Supposedly the issue of bond notes is backed by a USD$200 loan by the Afreximbank, but no-one really knows how many have been issued because the central bank provides no information.

What the government has done instead is to fund its rising costs by issuing treasury bills (whereby the government touts for loans on the capital market against promises of later redemption). No-one in their right mind would want to buy them, but Zimbabwe&rsquo;s banks today have little option. As inward investment into the country has dried up to a trickle, there is little else for them to spend their money on, and the interest rates that the government promises to pay are, at face value, attractively high.

The coalition government of national unity recorded budget surpluses for three of the four full years in which the opposition controlled the Treasury. For its part, the ZANU-PF government recorded deficits of USD$186 million and USD$125 million in 2014 and 2015. Recently, the then finance minister Chinamasa projected a deficit of USD$1.41 billion for 2017. As of June 30, 2017, there were USD$2.5 billion worth of Treasury bills on the issue.

In other words, the spending will continue. Zimbabwe&rsquo;s financial system is living on borrowed time and borrowed money. It will again end in financial ruin, as it did in 2008. But all ZANU-PF cares about is ensuring that it wins the next election and allowing its political elite to &ldquo;eat&rdquo;.

This article was originally published in <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/zimbabwes-financial-system-is-living-on-borrowed-time-and-borrowed-money-86159" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/grace-mugabe-flees-zimbabwe-after-army-takes-over-reports-24301">Also read:&nbsp;Grace Mugabe flees Zimbabwe after army takes over: Reports</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/zimbabwes-robert-mugabe-liberation-hero-turned-despot-24292">Also </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/zimbabwes-robert-mugabe-liberation-hero-turned-despot-24292">read:</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/zimbabwes-robert-mugabe-liberation-hero-turned-despot-24292">&nbsp;Zimbabwe&#39;s Robert Mugabe: Liberation hero turned despot</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/main-zimbabwe-newspaper-completely-misses-news-of-coup-24321">Also read:&nbsp;Main Zimbabwe newspaper completely misses news of coup</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/targeting-criminals-not-a-military-takeover-of-government-zimbabwe-military-24236">Also read:&nbsp;Targeting criminals, not a military takeover of government: Zimbabwe military</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/army-takes-control-in-zimbabwe-president-mugabe-detained-report-24283">Also </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/army-takes-control-in-zimbabwe-president-mugabe-detained-report-24283">read:</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/army-takes-control-in-zimbabwe-president-mugabe-detained-report-24283"> Zimbabwe: President Mugabe under house arrest, army denies coup</a> 
&nbsp;

Years of political instability and economic mismanagement under the rule of ZANU-PF have left Zimbabwe?s financial system in chaos. The country is living on borrowed time and borrowed money.

Zimbabwe’s financial system increasingly resembles a house of cards. Were one card to give way – for instance, if South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, were to have the temerity to suggest that Zimbabwe actually pays for the electricity that it’s supplying the country – the entire edifice would collapse. To put it another way, the government is a bust. It is again printing money to cover its spiralling costs, and inflation is rising. And given that there’s an election looming in 2018, Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF doesn’t want to cut-back. Far from it, it wants to carry on spending, as fast as it can. The rot goes back to the early 2000’s. ZANU-PF profligacy had been fuelled by a continuous cycle of simply printing more money and resultant runaway inflation. Mega-inflation meant that ordinary people lost their pensions and whatever savings they had, as the Zimbabwe dollar lost its value and people resorted to barter or the use of other currencies. Ultimately, the government faced no choice but to accept reality. In 2008 it scrapped the Zimbabwe dollar in favour of a basket of other currencies, although within a short time, this meant in effect the reign of the US dollar. “Dollarisation” allowed for the pursuit of more rational policies by the coalition Government of National Unity which followed the disputed 2008 election. However, its control of the electoral machinery ensured that ZANU-PF won a resounding victory in the 2013 election. Within a short space of time, it returned to its familiar policy mix of profligacy, corruption and populist economics. Yet ZANU-PF faced major problems. Above all, “dollarisation” meant that the cost of Zimbabwe’s exports on international markets was high. Worse, the dramatic collapse in agricultural production since the early 2000s (following the appropriation of white farms) alongside the decimation of the country’s manufacturing industries meant that there was relatively little to export anyway. Tobacco production has recovered a little, but the quality is less than it used to be, so returns are relatively less. Meanwhile, government insistence that mines should be 51 per cent Zimbabwean owned has done nothing to entice inward investment or boost exports. In short, the capacity of the economy to earn US dollars by selling goods externally has fallen dramatically, and the supply of money circulating within the country has dried up. Unemployment stands at around 90 per cent. President Robert Mugabe’s latest response has been to replace finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who had been warning of the structure’s fragility in ever more urgent tones. The new finance minister is Ignatius Chombo, a party loyalist, who will brook no talk of any need for structural reform. The bond notes Faced with a looming crisis, the ZANU-PF government has resorted to three key strategies. One has been the issue of “bond notes” (of different denominations) by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Officially, they’re designed to swell the amount of money in circulation within the country. The problem is that apart from having no value outside the country, nobody trusts them as they have been issued by a ZANU-PF government, and it was this government that presided over the hyperinflation. ZANU-PF’s announcement that it was issuing bond notes was met with a run on the banks as depositors sought to withdraw dollars as fast as they could. Their assumption was that this was a government ploy to reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe responded by limiting the number of dollars individuals could withdraw. People are reluctant to use the bond notes. But they’re still sometimes forced to accept them because of the sheer shortage of “real” money. As a result, when they can, they rush off to the local bus station where they can sell them for dollars to currency traders – albeit illegally. The second strategy has been the rapid expansion of country’s ability to manage electronic transactions. Its aim has been to expand the amount of money in circulation without using up “real” dollars. Accordingly, government employees are now largely paid electronically. Similarly, government employees (and everyone else) now pay nearly all their bills within the country electronically. And Zimbabweans are rarely able to convert the notional sums of dollars they hold in the bank into real cash – unless they make use of the currency traders in illegal transactions. Meanwhile, with the rate of inflation continuing to rise combined with the widespread lack of faith in the banks, many Zimbabweans spend their bank balances on consumer goods as quickly as possible rather than attempting to “save”. After all, if times get hard, you won’t be able to get rid of your bond notes, but you may be able to sell your fridge. Fanciful financial system But it’s the third strategy which the government has pursued which is really fuelling a fanciful financial system. Since 2013, government expenditure has steadily increased year by year, despite the country earning very little internationally. The ZANU-PF government may have hoped to fund this by its old trick of literally printing money, that is, by expanding the supply of bond notes. But such was the negative popular sentiment that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe seems to have restricted their issue. Supposedly the issue of bond notes is backed by a USD$200 loan by the Afreximbank, but no-one really knows how many have been issued because the central bank provides no information. What the government has done instead is to fund its rising costs by issuing treasury bills (whereby the government touts for loans on the capital market against promises of later redemption). No-one in their right mind would want to buy them, but Zimbabwe’s banks today have little option. As inward investment into the country has dried up to a trickle, there is little else for them to spend their money on, and the interest rates that the government promises to pay are, at face value, attractively high. The coalition government of national unity recorded budget surpluses for three of the four full years in which the opposition controlled the Treasury. For its part, the ZANU-PF government recorded deficits of USD$186 million and USD$125 million in 2014 and 2015. Recently, the then finance minister Chinamasa projected a deficit of USD$1.41 billion for 2017. As of June 30, 2017, there were USD$2.5 billion worth of Treasury bills on the issue. In other words, the spending will continue. Zimbabwe’s financial system is living on borrowed time and borrowed money. It will again end in financial ruin, as it did in 2008. But all ZANU-PF cares about is ensuring that it wins the next election and allowing its political elite to “eat”. This article was originally published in The Conversation. Read the original article. Also read: Grace Mugabe flees Zimbabwe after army takes over: Reports Also read: Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe: Liberation hero turned despot Also read: Main Zimbabwe newspaper completely misses news of coup Also read: Targeting criminals, not a military takeover of government: Zimbabwe military Also read: Zimbabwe: President Mugabe under house arrest, army denies coup

Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is in deep mess

According to a new study published in the journal Tobacco Control, teenagers who had vaped when they were of the age 13 or 14 were about four times more likely to have tried a tobacco cigarette a year later than those who had not. This comes at a time when last&nbsp;year, a major report by the Royal College of Physicians had concluded that&nbsp;e-cigarettes are much less harmful to health and smokers should be encouraged to use them.&nbsp;

According to the report, it is suggested that use of e-cigarettes portrays a better image of the user which could ultimately encourage people who had never smoked to try them. This could translate to becoming a&nbsp;nicotine habit that encourages users to smoke cigarettes in the coming years.&nbsp;

The report has also found that 9 per cent of 13 and 14-year-olds who had not tried e-cigarettes reported trying a tobacco cigarette a year later.&nbsp;However, among those who had tried an e-cigarette, the figure for tobacco use a year later rose to 34.4 per cent.

Th researchers wrote: &ldquo;We showed that ever&nbsp;use of e-cigarettes is associated with initiation of cigarette use; an effect that remains when controlling for various predictors of smoking. Our study in UK adolescents found patterns similar to those reported in longitudinal studies among adolescents aged 13 to 14 years and older in the USA.

&ldquo;A significant minority of adolescents try cigarettes first (19.9 per cent here) and later initiate cigarette use.

&ldquo;Our findings also indicated that the association between ever use of e-cigarettes&nbsp;and initiation of cigarette use was particularly strong among adolescents with no friends who smoked, a group usually considered to be less susceptible to smoking initiation.&rdquo;

However, they added: &ldquo;While acknowledging that a causal relationship may be plausible, we cannot confirm this, based on our findings and the trends observed over the same period in the UK.

&ldquo;Given the lack of clarity regarding the mechanism linking ecigarette and cigarette use, we need to be cautious in making policy recommendations based on our findings.&rdquo;

Some health experts believe that while this might be true, it also must be taken into consideration that those kids who try vaping are the ones who would in most likelihood, also try smoking and not necessarily in any order. They say that&nbsp;if e-cigarettes were acting as a &lsquo;gateway&rsquo; to tobacco for teenagers then smoking rates would be rising among that age group, but they are actually at an all-time low.&nbsp;

(WION)

However, other experts say if e-cigarettes were acting as a ?gateway? to tobacco for teenagers then smoking rates would be rising among that age group, but they are actually at an all-time low

According to a new study published in the journal Tobacco Control, teenagers who had vaped when they were of the age 13 or 14 were about four times more likely to have tried a tobacco cigarette a year later than those who had not. This comes at a time when last year, a major report by the Royal College of Physicians had concluded that e-cigarettes are much less harmful to health and smokers should be encouraged to use them. According to the report, it is suggested that use of e-cigarettes portrays a better image of the user which could ultimately encourage people who had never smoked to try them. This could translate to becoming a nicotine habit that encourages users to smoke cigarettes in the coming years. The report has also found that 9 per cent of 13 and 14-year-olds who had not tried e-cigarettes reported trying a tobacco cigarette a year later. However, among those who had tried an e-cigarette, the figure for tobacco use a year later rose to 34.4 per cent. Th researchers wrote: “We showed that ever use of e-cigarettes is associated with initiation of cigarette use; an effect that remains when controlling for various predictors of smoking. Our study in UK adolescents found patterns similar to those reported in longitudinal studies among adolescents aged 13 to 14 years and older in the USA. “A significant minority of adolescents try cigarettes first (19.9 per cent here) and later initiate cigarette use. “Our findings also indicated that the association between ever use of e-cigarettes and initiation of cigarette use was particularly strong among adolescents with no friends who smoked, a group usually considered to be less susceptible to smoking initiation.” However, they added: “While acknowledging that a causal relationship may be plausible, we cannot confirm this, based on our findings and the trends observed over the same period in the UK. “Given the lack of clarity regarding the mechanism linking ecigarette and cigarette use, we need to be cautious in making policy recommendations based on our findings.” Some health experts believe that while this might be true, it also must be taken into consideration that those kids who try vaping are the ones who would in most likelihood, also try smoking and not necessarily in any order. They say that if e-cigarettes were acting as a ‘gateway’ to tobacco for teenagers then smoking rates would be rising among that age group, but they are actually at an all-time low. (WION)

Teenagers who vape are four times more likely to try smoking, finds study

Gory pictures on cigarette packets depicting the dangers of smoking have helped people kick the butt. But despite all the images of the diseased lungs and heart, the number of girls taking to the habit of smoking is on the rise. One of the prime responsibilities and a large opportunity in public health in the 21st century is to prevent the increase in smoking among women. 
 
 
In what could sound alarming, according to the WHO reports, tobacco smoking currently kills five million people a year worldwide and, according to estimates, will probably kill eight million people a year between now and 2030 and one billion over the course of the 21st century. 
 
The World No Tobacco Day was a theme initiated in 2010 with an intention to draw a relation between gender and tobacco, with an emphasis on marketing cigarettes to women. This theme was chosen &quot;to draw particular attention to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing towards women and girls&quot;. And this continues to be observed year-on-year. 
 
In the garb of being modern, fashionable, independent and self confident, women/girls consider smoking as an expression of independence. While it is imperative that women`s empowerment continues, attention must be paid to its potential link to increased smoking among women and to the ways in which the tobacco industry is capitalising on societal changes to target them. 
 
The most common time when women initiate smoking is in their teens, and the number of adolescents who initiate smoking increases every year from grades nine through 12. Moreover, there is growing evidence that the reasons girls initiate smoking is different from the reasons why boys begin. Many of the factors that contribute to smoking initiation have been elucidated; the strongest appear to be peer smoking and parent smoking. 
 
Parent connectedness also plays a vital role. Adolescents desire greater connectedness to parents, school, and community. Unfortunately, today`s busy adults frequently relinquish responsibility and supervision of teens allowing them greater opportunities to participate in unhealthy behaviours. When the adolescent is unable to meet her need for affirmation within the family, in this case, the daughter with the mother, the affiliation with the peer group may be greater. 
 
Half a century ago, the risk of death from lung cancer among men who smoked was five times higher than that of women smokers. But by the first decade of this century that risk has equalised: for both men and women who smoked, the risk of death from lung cancer is 25 times greater than for non-smokers. 
 
A study has indicated that women who continue to smoke die on an average more than 10 years sooner than those who never smoked. While lung cancer is the most infamous hazard linked to smoking, the habit also raises the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and other cancers, including breast cancer. 
 
Interestingly, what several are unaware are the changes in manufacture of cigarettes that has led to increased dangers. The use of perforated filters, tobacco blends that are less irritating, and paper that is more porous has made it easier to inhale smoke and has encouraged deeper inhalation to achieve satisfying blood levels of nicotine. The result of deeper inhalation is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 
 
Women who smoke are also more likely to have fertility problems. A single butt can result in more than 7,000 chemicals spreading through the entire body and the organs. This could lead to ovulation problems, damage to reproductive organs, damage to eggs, premature menopause and increased risk of miscarriage.&nbsp; 
 
It`s never too late to reap the benefits of quitting. The younger you are when you stop smoking, the greater your chances of living a long and healthy life. And we can do a lot better to reduce the prevalence of smoking with the tools currently in hand if government agencies, medical insurers and the public work in tandem. 
 
(Dr. Rajat Arora is an Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director at Yashoda Hospitals in Delhi. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at drrajat@yashodahospital.org) 
&nbsp;

Gory pictures on cigarette packets depicting the dangers of smoking have helped people kick the butt. But despite all the images of the diseased lungs and heart, the number of girls taking to the habit of smoking is on the rise. One of the prime responsibilities and a large opportunity in public health in the 21st century is to prevent the increase in smoking among women.

Gory pictures on cigarette packets depicting the dangers of smoking have helped people kick the butt. But despite all the images of the diseased lungs and heart, the number of girls taking to the habit of smoking is on the rise. One of the prime responsibilities and a large opportunity in public health in the 21st century is to prevent the increase in smoking among women. In what could sound alarming, according to the WHO reports, tobacco smoking currently kills five million people a year worldwide and, according to estimates, will probably kill eight million people a year between now and 2030 and one billion over the course of the 21st century. The World No Tobacco Day was a theme initiated in 2010 with an intention to draw a relation between gender and tobacco, with an emphasis on marketing cigarettes to women. This theme was chosen "to draw particular attention to the harmful effects of tobacco marketing towards women and girls". And this continues to be observed year-on-year. In the garb of being modern, fashionable, independent and self confident, women/girls consider smoking as an expression of independence. While it is imperative that women`s empowerment continues, attention must be paid to its potential link to increased smoking among women and to the ways in which the tobacco industry is capitalising on societal changes to target them. The most common time when women initiate smoking is in their teens, and the number of adolescents who initiate smoking increases every year from grades nine through 12. Moreover, there is growing evidence that the reasons girls initiate smoking is different from the reasons why boys begin. Many of the factors that contribute to smoking initiation have been elucidated; the strongest appear to be peer smoking and parent smoking. Parent connectedness also plays a vital role. Adolescents desire greater connectedness to parents, school, and community. Unfortunately, today`s busy adults frequently relinquish responsibility and supervision of teens allowing them greater opportunities to participate in unhealthy behaviours. When the adolescent is unable to meet her need for affirmation within the family, in this case, the daughter with the mother, the affiliation with the peer group may be greater. Half a century ago, the risk of death from lung cancer among men who smoked was five times higher than that of women smokers. But by the first decade of this century that risk has equalised: for both men and women who smoked, the risk of death from lung cancer is 25 times greater than for non-smokers. A study has indicated that women who continue to smoke die on an average more than 10 years sooner than those who never smoked. While lung cancer is the most infamous hazard linked to smoking, the habit also raises the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and other cancers, including breast cancer. Interestingly, what several are unaware are the changes in manufacture of cigarettes that has led to increased dangers. The use of perforated filters, tobacco blends that are less irritating, and paper that is more porous has made it easier to inhale smoke and has encouraged deeper inhalation to achieve satisfying blood levels of nicotine. The result of deeper inhalation is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Women who smoke are also more likely to have fertility problems. A single butt can result in more than 7,000 chemicals spreading through the entire body and the organs. This could lead to ovulation problems, damage to reproductive organs, damage to eggs, premature menopause and increased risk of miscarriage. It`s never too late to reap the benefits of quitting. The younger you are when you stop smoking, the greater your chances of living a long and healthy life. And we can do a lot better to reduce the prevalence of smoking with the tools currently in hand if government agencies, medical insurers and the public work in tandem. (Dr. Rajat Arora is an Interventional Cardiologist and Medical Director at Yashoda Hospitals in Delhi. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at drrajat@yashodahospital.org)

Every cigarette rots you, inside out

tobacco

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