MS 14.00-15.30 Main sessions

GETTING WOMEN HOOKED ON TOBACCO

The second wave of the tobacco epidemic is among women and soon tobacco use will be one of the greatest burdens to the health and well-being of women and girls around the world. By 2020 about one million women will die every year from tobacco induced illnesses. In fact smoking is an even more important health issue for women than for men, as women develop all of the same smoking related illnesses as men, plus those related to hormonal status, reproductive function and pregnancy.

If current trends prevail more women than men will smoke in the next century. In the youngest age-groups this is already the case in developed countries, where smoking habits among women and girls are becoming similar to those among men and boys.

By exploiting ideas of liberation, power and other important values for women the tobacco industry is accelerating this process. The same marketing techniques that have been used to promote smoking among women in developed countries are now being applied to women and girls in developing countries including the CEE countries.The tragic tobacco history among women that started in the US in the late 1920's is now repeating itself in country after country.

In order to counteract the tobacco epidemic among women it is necessary to know the tobacco industry's marketing strategy, how to get women hooked on tobacco. The presentation will explore how the tobacco industry has created a female market for tobacco in developed countries by changing the perception of tobacco from a male to a female habit, by focusing on the development of its strategy from the beginning of this century in the US and Northern European countries.

Smoke Free Europe Conference Abstracts - 19 SEP 1996

Generated with Harlequin WebMaker