Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Dramatic changes in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the second half of this century worldwide. Cigarette smoking, hereafter referred to as “smoking,” is the largest single risk factor for premature death in developed countries. Approximately one fifth of the deaths worldwide are attributable to smoking, and 28% of the smoking-attributable deaths involve lung cancer, 37% involve vascular disease, and 26% involve other respiratory diseases. More than 400 000 deaths per year and 30% of all cancers in the United States are attributable to smoking. Tobacco use is a global epidemic among young people. As with adults, it poses a serious health threat to youth and young adults nationwide and has significant implications for this nation’s public and economic health in the future (Perry, 2007). The impact of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use on chronic disease, which accounts for 75% of American spending on health care (Anderson 2010), is well-documented and undeniable. Nearly all tobacco use begins in childhood and adolescence (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS] 1994). In all, 88% of adult smokers who smoke daily report that they started smoking by the age of 18 years (see Chapter 3, “The Epidemiology of Tobacco Use Among Young People in the United States and Worldwide”). This is a time in life of great vulnerability to social influences (Steinberg 2004), such as those offered through the marketing of tobacco products and the modeling of smoking by attractive role models, as in movies (Dalton, 2009), which have especially strong effects on the young. This is also a time in life of heightened sensitivity to normative influences: as tobacco use is less tolerated in public areas and there are fewer social or regular users of tobacco.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths.In 2016, more than 15 of every 100 U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (15.5%) currently* smoked cigarettes. This means an estimated 37.8 million adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes.More than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. Smoking has declined from 20.9% (nearly 21 of every 100 adults) in 2005 to 15.5% (more than 15 of every 100 adults) in 2016. The proportion of ever smokers who had quit increased; however, current smoking prevalence did not change significantly during 2015-2016.
According to Philippine Statistic Authority (2009) twenty-eight percent or 17.3 million Filipino adults age 15 years and older are current tobacco smokers, according to the results of the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Almost half (48 percent or 14.6 million) of adult males and 9 percent (2.8 million) of adult females are current smokers. Moreover, 23 percent of Filipino adults are daily tobacco smokers: 38 percent for males and 7 percent for females. Filipinos mainly smoke cigarettes, which include manufactured cigarettes and hand-rolled cigarettes. Cigarettes are smoked by 47 percent of men and by 9 percent of women. On the average, male daily smokers consume 11 cigarettes per day while female daily smokers consume 7 cigarettes per day. Among adults who smoked 12 months before the survey, 48 percent made a quit attempt, while only 5 percent made a quit attempt and successfully quit smoking. More than one-third (37 percent) of adults who worked indoors or outdoors with an enclosed area at their workplace were exposed to tobacco smoke. Among adults who used public transportation a month prior to the survey, more than half (55 percent) were exposed to second-hand smoke, while among those who visited government buildings or offices, more than one-third (37 percent) were exposed to second-hand smoke.
The Philippines 2009 GATS is a nationally representative household survey of the population 15 years of age and older. It was designed to collect information on respondents' background characteristics; patterns of tobacco use; former/past tobacco consumption; age of initiation of daily smoking; consumption of different tobacco products (cigarettes, pipes, cigars and other smoked tobacco); nicotine dependence; frequency of quit attempts; exposure to second-hand smoke; and knowledge about health effects of smoking among others. Survey data were collected electronically during personal interviews conducted from September 10 to October 12, 2009. Funding for the GATS was provided by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. Data collection was implemented by the NSO. Other GATS partners include the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CDC Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, RTI International, Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health.
A recent survey conducted by the Institute of Popular Opinion (IPO) of the University of Mindanao revealed that the youth here started smoking and drinking when they were 12 years old, six years earlier than the common age. A total of 264 youth aged 16 to 24 years old were surveyed from May 24 to 30. Dr. Adrian Tamayo of UM IPO said that the result of the survey showed that 4 in 10 Dabawenyo youth started to smoke cigarettes while 5 in 10 youth, drink as early as 12 years old. The survey revealed that 97 percent of the Dabawenyo youth smokers were influenced by their friends while three percent were influenced by their own relatives. Ninety-eight percent of the youth who are into drinking were also strongly influenced by friends while 71 percent of them drink once a week. Tamayo pointed out that loose family engagement, too much exposure in the internet and social media, and strong influence of friends are the factors why the youth are into smoking and drinking. “Although they spend most of their time with their family, yet the family control and family values seem to be reducing,” Tamayo said. The study notes a reduction of values and virtues among the youth. The survey also showed that 23 out of 50 Dabawenyo youth are engaged in sex, one of it, a female, revealed she started having sex as young as ten years old. “This is already a confirmation of the teenage pregnancy because as early as ten years old and the common age is 18,” Tamayo said. Tamayo said that while the youth spend most of their time with their family, the trouble with drinking, smoking and engaging into sex remains alarming. Based on the survey, a Dabawenyo youth spends an average of eight hours a day with family while five hours are spent with friends and four hours are spent in the internet. They also allot two hours for physical development such as fitness and health. According to the survey, in a 1 to 10 scale system, the youth also value and consider their family as the most important thing with an average of 9.3. They also consider the country (8.5), physical health (8.5), and mental ability or skills (8.2) as extremely important. “The parents now are in constant struggle with technology. The youth are indicating that time spent with their family are rest time not much of an engagement time,” Tamayo said. According the American Cancer Society, almost all smokers start when they are young. Each day more than 4,000 youth under the age of 18 try their first cigarette and another 1,100 become regular, daily smokers, putting them at risk for a host of smoking-related problems, including:
Coughing Shortness of breath More frequent headaches Increased phlegm (mucus) Respiratory illnesses Worse cold and flu symptoms Reduced physical fitness Poor lung growth and function Worse overall health A young woman smoking a cigarette Addiction to nicotine
There is a law of Tobacco which is Republic Act No. 9211 TOBACCO REGULATION ACT OF 2003 a policy of the State to protect the populace from hazardous products and promote the right to health and instill health consciousness among them.
Purpose. - It is the main thrust of this Act to: a. Promote a healthful environment; b. Inform the public of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking and tobacco use; c. Regulate and subsequently ban all tobacco advertisements and sponsorships; d. Regulate the labeling of tobacco products; e. Protect the youth from being initiated to cigarette smoking and tobacco use by prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors; f. Assist and encourage Filipino tobacco farmers to cultivate alternative agricultural crops to prevent economic dislocation; and g. Create an Inter-Agency Committee on Tobacco (IAC-Tobacco) to oversee the implementation of the provision of this Act. So better to follow the rules it's for our own health and safety.
