Tobacco consumption has been one of the most pressing health issues in India in today’s world. Not only does tobacco cause major illnesses and is the root cause behind a variety of chronic diseases, it is also responsible for nearly 1.35 million deaths every year.

According to WHO data, India is the second largest consumer and producer of tobacco and according to the latest India Tobacco Control report released by the Health Ministry, smoking has gone up twice it’s previous amount in teenaged girls. 

The report declares increased smoking among adolescents, pointing the most acute peak among girls.

For girls, it has gone up by 3.8 percentage points between 2009 and 2019, levelling the rate of tobacco consumption at 6.2%. Among boys, this rate has only increased by 2.3 percentage points. Smoking in adults has been declining, reducing by 2.2 percentage points in men and 0.4 percentage points in women. Data also points to the rate of young girls smoking at an ever-prevalent high (6.2% in 2019) as compared to adult women (1.5% in 2017) which can prove to change the landscape of the next generation. 

What makes this change in trend so radical?

The 1920s were the first time the world observed a tilt towards the stereotypical male smoking cigarettes to ease his angst. It was a time in the world where men, away at war, had left women in charge of the society and propelled the the paradigm into a fight for equal rights— the right to vote, as it may be, or the right to smoke. Prior to this, smoking was not widely accepted for woman, some even handed prison sentences for the same. During the war, however, things changed. Traditional gender roles changed. 

Often regarded as the father of Public Relations, as opposed to Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays was the first to make a cigarette ad campaign to target solely women. George Washington Hill, president of American Tobacco Company, had put Bernays in charge to create an ad design that would appeal to women, remove stigma, become a testament to female liberation and present the act as something respectable instead. And hence, Lucky Strike cigarettes were born, designed by one of the first PR stunts of all time: Torches of Freedom. 

This marked a landmark case, and to this day is one of the most popular arguments for smoking in women. It’s liberating, in the genuine essence. If men can do it, why can’t we? And generational change is often observed as an extension of what came before. If it is liberating to older women, it surely must be revolutionary to younger women who have not yet developed a psyche that can help them question why it is that something so harmful can seem cool.

This is not the only reason, several other reasons include environmental circumstances, peer pressure, word-of-mouth via their partners and in some cases, pollution. Any average adolescent from Delhi, when questioned about why they choose to smoke, are going to have one or another variation of the same reply: ‘Why not? Living here is like smoking thirty cigarettes a day anyway!’ Any average adolescent from Delhi, upon admitting that they do not smoke, are going to hear the same ridicule in response. ‘Why not? Living here is like smoking thirty cigarettes a day anyway!’ 

Therefore, one cannot be blamed for falling into peer-pressure or trying to fit in or trying to model the same behaviour that has been observed in adults time and time again when it comes to dealing with their emotions. Girls, like boys, are maturing faster and girls, like boys, are turning to smoking to deal with it.

Bernays' campaign may have been the first torch lit in the oil spill that inspired a fledgling of change despite not amounting to a wider break in prejudice, but it has left it’s own legacy.

“Women have largely been an untapped demographic for tobacco companies. This is the reason girls have become a prominent target, with images of smoking as fashionable and a sign of women empowerment. Another factor is the depiction of smoking in films and television. Ever since the regulation to issue warnings when scenes of smoking appear on screen was introduced in 2012, we saw a decline in smoking on screen. However, with OTT platforms, where content without warning was uploaded, there was an increase in onscreen smoking. This is the reason the ministry brought in the new rules to regulate these platforms,” Professor Monica Arora, one of the editors of the report and public health scientist at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).

Smoking
Image Source: Verywell Health

“There is also a worrisome trend of propagating e-cigarettes as safe when they aren’t. They are easily available on portals or in the grey market and are sold without verifying the consumer’s age, completely in violation of the laws.”

But regardless of the liberal implications, there are drawbacks

The question is not about whether gender-equality should be prevalent in tobacco consumption but about how harmful it can be for one’s health, regardless of gender, and how this issue should be treated as a severe point of concern. Among adolescents, it has been reported that 7.4% of smokers were girls and 9.4% of them were boys. Without intervention, this could pose a significant risk to public health as it is all but an increase from previous statistics and begins at a tender age demographic. 

Smoking increases the risk of respiratory diseases and the chances of lung cancer and can be a major cause of several cardiovascular issues including heart attacks and strokes. It impacts fertility regardless of gender and puts the future generations at risk, leading to smaller foetuses, premature births and babies with birth defects. A 2019 study revealed that women under 50 who smoke are at a higher risk of a serious heart attack due to the interaction of oestrogen with cigarette chemicals. It is also linked to DNA damage among cells in the cervix, in certain cases, that can then contribute to the development of cancer. 

The India Tobacco Control report, however, has included a 2040 vision document that is advocating for the steps to take ensure a tobacco-free generation. This includes using advertising and promotional content in the plan as it may be one of the best ways to reach the youth and that new tobacco products should be banned, with the usual packaging returning to being plain. 

Regardless, an increase of smoking among adolescents is a cause for major concern and a conversation must be had to debate real change for this problem.  

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