Women and tobacco – The facts and not so pretty figures

by iphindia | Jun 21, 2013 | Latest Updates

Women and tobacco is there a connection? Definitely yes!

The bond between women and tobacco goes way beyond the cultivation and manufacture, and is now creeping into consumption as well. As more and more tactics are used by the industry to tap into this vast less explored area of women and tobacco use studies have shown a rapid rise in female tobacco users. In general 6 million people worldwide die due to direct or indirect effects of tobacco usage. By 2030 tobacco is estimated to kill more than 8 million people worldwide each year, with 80% of these premature deaths among people living in low- and middle-income countries.

In India till recently tobacco use among women was not very common. Though rural women do consume tobacco, in various parts of India, generally tobacco use by women is not a socially acceptable norm. Smoking habits, often seen as an act of rebellion usually becomes linked with freedom and equality. In urban India with the increasing number of working and educated women, smoking is picking up among this group as a way to break away from the social constraints and express their freedom. Such circumstances are cleverly exploited by the tobacco industry to gain customers among new target groups such as women and children. Marketing, portrayal in the media, and movies can influence the progression to regular use and addiction. While smoking among women has declined in many developed countries, it is predicted that as women achieve greater spending power, and socio cultural and religious constraints decrease an increase in smoking rates in developing regions is emerging; such is the scenario currently in urban India. Overall, 2.9% of women smoke and 18.4% chew tobacco in India. The prevalence of smoking among women is low in most parts of India, but is somewhat common in parts of the north, east, northeast and Andhra Pradesh.

Smoking by men is somehow considered normal and does not evoke much of a response, but smoking by women does turn heads; more so in India and other neighbouring countries. Hence usage of smokeless and other forms of tobacco such as hookah, tobacco water etc is quite common among women of this region. Smokeless tobacco usage is convenient for women as it can be concealed quite easily and does not attract the same social attention as smoking would. The major concern with this is, smokeless tobacco is shown to contain 3095 chemicals of which 28 are potential carcinogens (cancer causing agents). India presently has the largest number of oral cancers in the world and smokeless tobacco users have a high risk of developing oral precancer and cancer. In the case of smoked tobacco there are more than 4000 chemicals, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and more than 50 are known to cause cancer. Second hand smoke(SHS) is also equally harmful as the mainstream smoke. SHS causes lung cancer and coronary heart disease. In children, SHS causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and many other diseases, primarily related to the respiratory tract. Other than tobacco consumption in smoked or smokeless forms even the chemicals used in tobacco farming have hazardous effects on maternal and fetal health.

Few of the reasons for the unique relationship between smoking and the female gender are as follows. Research findings reveal that female smokers derive greater subjective pleasurable effects from nicotine than their male counterparts. Also weight control and reduction of appetite are important aspects of the appeal of smoking for many women and girls. Studies do suggest that cessation may be more difficult for women than for men; one of the reasons could be weight gain and fear of weight gain particularly among women.

Other than the gender neutral effects of smoking such as lung and heart diseases, strokes, cancers etc., women are at an increased risk for female specific reproductive issues, including painful, irregular periods; earlier menopause; increased risk for cervical cancers among women who smoke and have human papilloma virus (HPV) and increased risks among those who use certain birth-control methods.

As tobacco industries are targeting gender specific promotion, increasing efforts should be made to develop gender-specific prevention strategies as well. Women who are very conscious of their looks should not fall prey to such lame excuses of reduction in appetite for weight control as they could end up with much more disfiguring consequences. A change in perspectives is required to consider tobacco use as ‘uncool’ and not a normal behaviour especially among young boys and girls. Women do not need to use tobacco to depict that they are independent and smart. Gender specific tobacco control activities should also take into consideration the millions of women involved in the tobacco farming and production industry that tirelessly roll lakhs of beedis to earn meagre amounts. Such activities should also focus on young girls to help them make well informed choices about their health and life.