Tobaksfria snuset Archives - Sida 2 av 2 - Nicotinefree future for children

mar 17 2022

The laws needed
to protect children from nicotine addiction

By kawebb Information

No child dreams of starting to smoke or use snus. Yet, millions of children around the world are lured into nicotine addiction every year. It is hard for young people to see through the tobacco industry’s manipulative marketing and resist pressure from friends, but society can help them not to be enticed into use of nicotine by introducing well thought-out political measures.

Widespread tobacco use is a fairly new phenomenon. It is only in the last 100 years that nicotine has been approved of as an everyday and popular drug. The proportion of the population that is dependent on nicotine varies between countries. In Sweden, for example, between 25 and 30 percent of the population is addicted to nicotine use.

Almost everyone who is unable to stop using nicotine products initiated their tobacco use as teenagers. One reason for this is that tobacco companies, with the help of massive advertising, have for many years succeeded in making use of their products to become a marker of group identity for teenagers. In addition, nicotine products have been and still are used by many young people to mark the transition to adulthood. It is not just about cigarettes but also about novel and emerging nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and snus that nowadays are available in several different forms in more and more countries.

Children see tobacco everywhere

In many countries, children see nicotine products, like any other consumer product, in shops, supermarkets and kiosks. There, the products are openly displayed in nicely designed packaging that arouses children’s curiosity. Both in their spare time and at school young people frequently see their friends use different kinds of nicotine products. Many people who have become addicted to nicotine say that they began using nicotine products because they found it difficult to resist peer pressure.

Businesses take advantage of social media to market their nicotine products. Influencers who have the power to affect children’s purchase decisions are paid by the tobacco industry to describe the new nicotine products as trendy. This kind of marketing is used to attract young people to try them, which may result in addiction to nicotine even though it is well-known that it has many hazardous effects on individuals and society.

Society has a duty to act

The burden of resisting both advertising and peer pressure should not be on children’s shoulders. Society must take up fight against the tobacco industry on behalf of children. One way to do so is for the government to legislate for the protection of children from being brought into contact with nicotine products. The World Health Organization has worked out the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to provide a response to the tobacco epidemic. The Convention has been signed by 168 countries.

Prohibiting all forms of tobacco advertising

Children who don’t see advertisements for nicotine products get less curious to try them. Bans on advertising such products also reduce social acceptability of using them.

Prohibition of condiments in all products

The regulations on adding flavors to tobacco vary worldwide, but the tobacco industry’s reason for using them is the same everywhere, on one hand that seasoning makes the products feel less dangerous, on the other that the threshold for children to try them becomes lower. Banning flavors in cigarettes, e-cigarettes, snus and other products containing nicotine reduces the risk of children becoming addicted.

Nicotine- and tobacco-free school hours

Due to peer pressure, many children try nicotine products for the first time when they are at school. Therefore, banning use of nicotine during school hours would protect them from being persuaded into using it. Many children have expressed the view that a law forbidding the use of nicotine during school-hours would help them to refrain from starting to smoke or use other nicotine products.

Classify and regulate new products as tobacco products

To protect children, all novel and emerging forms of nicotine products should be classified as and be subject to the same regulatory controls as other tobacco products. This is necessary since tobacco companies are constantly developing new ways to hook children on their products with the aim of getting them to use nicotine as a habit. Flexible legislation that also covers future nicotine products that are introduced into the market, would reduce the risk of children being addicted.

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The laws needed
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Future tobacco policy – abandoning our youths ́ future health?

mar 17 2022

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Article 8
Everyone should be protected
from exposure to secondhand smoke

By kawebb Politiker

There is no doubt that passive smoking is extremely dangerous. It causes deaths, illnesses, and disabilities. People need to be protected against environmental tobacco smoke. Article 8 requires that the Parties (countries that have signed the Tobacco Convention) adopt measures to protect their citizens against exposure to secondhand smoke.

Anyone who smokes a cigarette breathes in only a quarter of the smoke. The remainder is breathed out into the environment by the smoker where it can be breathed in by non-smokers. Exposure to secondhand smoke may increase the risk of, for example, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, and cancer. This violates the fundamental rights and freedoms of man, as set forth, for example, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Article 8 of the Tobacco Convention commits countries to work actively to ensure that people are protected from secondhand smoke indoors, in the workplace, on public transport, in indoor public places and, where appropriate, in other public places. Tobacco-free laws and promotion of smoke-free environments are measures that can be used for protection from secondhand smoke.

There is empirical evidence that children are particularly vulnerable to environmental tobacco smoke exposure Therefore, they are at particular risk of health effects induced by passive smoking.

Nicotinfree school
Children and young people could be protected by a ban on smoking and use of other nicotinproducts in schoolyards. It would result in pupils being protected from tobacco use and from getting sight of tobacco products during school hours. Pupils and staff have a shared responsibility to create a tobacco-free workplace.

The explanation of the insistence on tobacco-free school hours is that young people shall not be lured into beginning to use tobacco products in school. If fewer pupils use tobacco products, it also means that fewer people are exposed to secondhand smoke, both in the short and long term.

Sources:

WHO Framework convention on tobacco control
Guidelines for implementation of Article 8

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mar 17 2022

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Article 12
Everyone has the right to know about tobacco

By kawebb Politiker

The public has the right to know about the negative consequences of tobacco and how tobacco use can be removed or minimized. This is stated in Article 12 of the Tobacco Convention.

The success of the information mission, under Article 12, requires countries to communicate, by all available means, about the negative consequences of tobacco production, consumption, and secondhand smoke. The guidelines stress the need for effective training, communication, and training programs linked to all types of tobacco products, including new and alternative products. Special attention should also be paid to the impact the products may have on vulnerable groups. The information should also concern the tobacco industry’s strategies to impede tobacco control, i.e., the work to reduce or completely remove tobacco use.

Politicians important for disseminating information

The dissemination of the messages needs to be done in different ways to succeed. One way is through educational programs for the public. Another way is through education for people who then disseminate the message. Examples of intermediaries mentioned are staff in schools, health care and social services, but also politicians and other decision-makers.

In Sweden, information, education, and advocacy have been the mainstays of tobacco prevention, ever since the 1960s, long before the United Nation Tobacco Convention entered into force. Adequate and long-term financial resources are essential to maintain the quality and supply of information and educational materials in several areas. New generations have the same right to knowledge as previous generations about the harmful effects of the use of nicotine products. The information efforts must last as long as the tobacco industry recruits new users of nicotine products.

The Guidelines for Article 12 include :

Broad information and training programs are needed to address all forms of tobacco use.

All information and training operations shall be protected from the tobacco industry and no cooperation whatsoever shall take place between the Parties and the tobacco industry or its allies.

There is a need of training programs that are evidence-based and based on best practices.

A fundamental aim is to achieve social disapproval of tobacco, tobacco cultivation, the tobacco industry, and the use of tobacco.
The involvement of the civil society in the work is always important.

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mar 16 2022

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Article 13
Stop all advertising and sponsorship

By kawebb Politiker

Article 13 of the Tobacco Convention requests countries to impose a total ban on advertising, marketing, and sponsorship. In Sweden, the general rule is that tobacco advertising is forbidden. However, limited marketing in stores, such as information that they sell tobacco products, is allowed. Despite this, young people are exposed to tobacco advertising both in stores and on social media. As a politician, you can contribute to bringing about a change for the better.

Article 13 is founded on evidence-based practice that a total ban on marketing and sponsorship will reduce tobacco use. The Parties (countries that have signed the treaty that is the basis of the Tobacco Convention) are urged to impose a total ban. If this is not possible, because of the country’s constitution, as strong restrictions as possible should be implemented.

In the 1990s, long before Sweden had ratified the Tobacco Convention, advertising of tobacco products was banned. However, limited marketing is still allowed. It must be neutral and not intrusive or encourage to tobacco use. The justification for this exception to the law is that it enables tobacco consumers to make informed choices.

Visible tobacco products in stores is counted as advertising according to the Guidelines of the Tobacco Convention. In Finland, Norway, and Iceland, such exposure is prohibited. Iceland was the first in the world to, as early as 2001, introduce a ban on display of tobacco products. Experience from countries that have imposed exposure bans shows that this is an effective measure not only to help prevent tobacco use initiation among children, adolescents, and adults, but also to help people wanting to quit use of tobacco products.

There is strong support among the Swedish public for forbidding tobacco companies to using stores to market tobacco products. In the spring of 2020, Kantar Sifo, a Swedish market research company, conducted an opinion poll on behalf of Tobaksfakta. The reason was that tobacco companies were aggressively using retail outlets to market cigarettes. According to the polling result, 72 percent of the respondents was in favor of forbidding promotion of tobacco products in stores.

In the latest review of the Tobacco Act, it was proposed that exposure bans should be introduced in Sweden. However, this proposal was not included in the government bill and, therefore, not in the revised Tobacco Act.

Another topic raised in Article 13 of the Tobacco Convention is neutral tobacco packaging. It has been introduced in Norway and 20 other countries have introduced or intend to introduce it. In Sweden, it has been discussed for many years. Last year, the matter was raised in an official report called Ett ändamålsenligt skydd för tryck- och yttrandefriheten (An effective protection of freedom of the press and speech). The investigation was carried out by a parliamentary committee. One of their tasks was to decide on whether branded packaging of nicotine products could be excepted from the Freedom of the Press Act’s stipulations. The Committee concluded that this was not possible because it could come into conflict with freedom of establishment and of disseminating information of public interest. The Committee submitted, however, a proposal on how a constitutional provision could be formulated to allow for regulation of tobacco packaging in common law However, the Committee did not consider whether such a provision should be introduced.

The think tank Tobaksfakta has for many years argued for neutral packaging and is of the opinion that it can be implemented within the scope of the Freedom of the Press Act. Furthermore, they write that the harmful effects of tobacco use are so great that society must go all out for protecting children and young people from the tobacco industry’s use of tobacco packaging as a form of advertising.

Source:
WHO Framework convention on tobacco control

Guidelines for implementation of article 13

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apr 13 2021

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Talk to your children about tobacco and nicotine addiction

By ceciliaelander Information

Here are the facts for you who want to support your child to say no to all forms of tobacco. Interspersed with knowledge, there are also reflection questions that you can raise with your child. The idea is that the questions will contribute to an important conversation about nicotine addiction, and all forms of nicotine products. The goal is for your child to gain their own motivation to say no and be better equipped to withstand peer pressure.

The tobacco industry has been striving for over 100 years to make money making young people addicted to nicotine, and they have a number of well-developed strategies aimed at enticing your child to try tobacco. As you probably know, your child does not get any health benefits or financial benefits from being an addict. Rather, it has many negative consequences, both in the short and long term. It is not certain that your child realizes this and therefore it is important that you help him to reflect on it.

Brief facts about tobacco use
Tobacco is no longer just about cigarettes and brown snus but also e-cigarettes, puff bars, and white snus (or so-called nicotine bags). New products are constantly coming out on the market. Common to all the products is that they contain nicotine which is highly addictive.

Almost all addicted adults became so when they were teenagers. If you can help your child to abstain from tobacco until he or she turns 20, it means a reduced risk of addiction in adulthood. It is a great benefit for your child, both financially and health-wise.

Brief facts about nicotine
The latest research shows that the use of nicotine during adolescence or early adulthood rebuilds and creates lasting changes in the brain. This is because the brain has not had time to be fully developed and is therefore more sensitive to nicotine.

Nicotine use has a negative effect on children’s concentration and memory, and increases the risk of mental illness. Children and adolescents who use nicotine products are also more susceptible to infections and also get easier headaches and stomach aches. This means that they get more school absenteeism, which risks affecting school results. It has also been shown that children who are addicted to nicotine have an easier time starting with other drugs, such as cannabis.

Here you and your child can watch a short animated film about nicotine (1.44 min) Reflect on the content together. Please note specifically that even products called tobacco-free are full of nicotine – which is addictive.

This is how children are attracted
The tobacco industry uses various tricks to recruit children and huge amounts of money are invested in marketing – $ 1 million per hour globally. Among other things, there is a massive impact on social media, which most parents do not know about, and child locks, for example, via their channels on Tik Tok and Instagram. There, influencers, on behalf of the tobacco companies, show new nicotine products that children become curious about. These are available with thousands of enticing flavors, the packaging is nicely designed with nice colors. It is easy for children to order new products at home, such as puff bars, white snus and e-cigarettes, even if they are under 18 years old. The deliveries are either so neutral that parents do not react or the children pick them up via postal agents. As a parent, it is extremely difficult to have an overview of what the children see and do.

Ask your child/children how often they see different nicotine and tobacco products on their social media, how they are produced and how they (or their friends) are affected by it, show that you understand that it can be easy to miss that the products are dangerous – because they are so colorful and flavored with the same types of flavors as, for example, sweets – but help your child reflect on how he can do to remind himself how important it is to say no.

Peer pressure
You as a parent/guardian are an important support for your child to be able to say no. Because it’s not an easy thing. The group pressure among children is great and when you want to fit in, it is easy to give in. Tobacco has been used by teenagers for many years as a marker for them to start growing up. It used to be ”cool” to smoke, now many young people think it is cool to also use snus and e-cigarettes. And even if you yourself do not think so, maybe even friends do. There is a great risk that your child will start because someone at school offers nicotine products.

Talk to your child about peer pressure. Feel free to share if you yourself have any memories from your teenage years about it. It does not matter if you fell for the peer pressure or if you managed to resist. All experiences are rewarding for your child to talk about. Feel free to play role-playing games where your child gets to practice saying no when you play a friend who is trying to invite.

Get support from other parents
Being a parent is great, but it is also difficult. The teenage period can be a little extra tricky. The children become more independent and you as a parent / guardian get less insight into the children’s private sphere. You no longer have any natural meeting places where you meet other parents and it can sometimes feel lonely to deal with all the issues that arise. Feel free to contact some other parents, mothers and fathers of friends of your children, and talk about how you can help to prevent your children from becoming addicted. You can also raise the issue at the school’s parent meetings. And you, tell me you did it for your kids. Maybe your child shows some irritation, but remember that deep down, children are happy when they notice that their parents are getting involved.

All children are different. However, research shows that it is effective to ban your child from using tobacco. However, you do not have to start at that end, but can instead first ask your child how you can best act to help him not become addicted. After you have talked about it, you can say that you, out of consideration, also forbid your child to use all kinds of nicotineproducts.

Dare to be hard
It is never possible to know when your particular child will be exposed to tobacco on their social media, or be pressured to try it by friends. Therefore, it is good if you raise the issue of tobacco regularly. Even you who use tobacco yourself can do it. Maybe your child will question why you try to help him say no, when you yourself snuff or smoke. You can then explain that you know what it’s like to be a nicotinist, and do not want your child to be one too. Also, think about how you talk about tobacco products when your children are around. If you lift snus as something harmless, the risk increases that your child will also start.

More arguments that can motivate your teen
Your child may not care how a nicotine addiction would affect their health or finances. But then there are several other things to talk about. One argument that may motivate your teen to give up is that it is common for children to be exploited in tobacco production. In fact, it is so horrible that many children die every year because they have been poisoned by nicotine and pesticides in the tobacco fields. Another argument that can go awry is that all tobacco products harm the environment.

Here you and your child can watch a short animated film about how tobacco harms the environment (1.26 min) Reflect on the content together.

If your child does not accept the above argument, you can try to lift tobacco use from an economic perspective. Ask how much different nicotineproducts cost and talk about how much a daily use would cost your child economically. Ask your teen what they would rather do for that money.

Sign to increase the protection of children

This support material has been developed as part of the Laws for All Children’s Future campaign. The campaign aims to influence politicians to legislate to protect children from addiction and thereby help them say no. You can be involved in influencing tobacco policy by signing a petition. Read more and sign up here!

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Nicotine is more dangerous than you think

Puffbars, nicotine pouches and tempting flavors

The laws needed
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Talk to your children about tobacco and nicotine addiction

Future tobacco policy – abandoning our youths ́ future health?

mar 22 2021

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Future tobacco policy – abandoning our youths ́ future health?

By ceciliaelander Information

Swedish Think Tank Tobaksfakta made a study 2020 on youth politicians’ views on tobacco and nicotine. Representatives from youth associations of parties represented in the parliament were interviewed. Questions concerning tobacco policy, attitudes to tobacco, own nicotine use and contacts with the tobacco industry were asked.

In the report, leading representatives from seven out of eight political youth associations have been interviewed. Their opinions and ambitions concerning tobacco control have been investigated. The interviews give an insight into the tobacco policy of the future, as several of today’s young politicians will probably become future members of parliament and ministers. Below is a summary of the report.

The interviews showed that there is a clear political dividing line between the three red-green youth unions on one side; Ung Vänster (Young Left), SSU (Social Democratic Youth League), and Grön Ungdom (Young Greens) and the conservative and Sweden Democratic youth unions on the other side: LUF (Liberal Youth of Sweden), MUF (The Moderate Youth League), KDU (Swedish Young Christian Democrats) and SDU (Swedish Democratic Youth). The red-green youth associations were positive to continue with new tobacco prevention measures such as neutral tobacco packaging (so-called plain packaging), bans on flavorings in tobacco products and bans on their exposure. At the same time, they wanted to regulate snus and e-cigarettes in a similar way to traditional cigarettes and problematized the tobacco industry’s marketing towards young people. The conservative and Sweden Democratic youth unions instead opposed all proposals for new tobacco prevention measures. Several of them disliked the expanded smoke-free environments that were introduced in 2019 (outdoor restaurants, bus stops, playgrounds, etc.) and wanted to promote the consumption of snus in various ways.

In a comparison between the interviews with members of parliament from the youth unions’ parent parties last year and the representatives of the political youth associations, some similarities emerged. Both present day and future political leaders admitted that the tobacco issue is not a priority. It is not seen as an issue that causes voters to change parties and is therefore not given a place in debates and election campaigns. Among the representatives from the red-green parliamentary parties: The Left Party, the Social Democrats and the Green Party and their respective youth unions, there was a high level of agreement in their answers. They shared views on already implemented proposals as well as on new tobacco prevention measures.

A general difference between the members of parliament and the young politicians was the focus on the use of snus, especially white snus. As the members of parliament had a clear focus on smoking and traditional cigarettes, the young politicians attached more importance to white snus. Several young politicians described how the concept of daily smoking felt abstract as they had no one in their circles of acquaintances who smoked and as they grew up in a society where smoking was prohibited in many places. On the other hand, several of the young politicians themselves used white snuff, and said that many of their friends did the same. Among young politicians there was a strong commitment to regulate white snus more strictly than today while members of parliament wanted to deregulate it and not oppose its consumption available. Furthermore, there were significant differences of opinion between conservative parent parties and youth associations. The interviewed representatives from the Moderates, the Liberals and the Christian Democrats were significantly more positive about both already implemented and new proposals for tobacco prevention measures than their youth unions MUF, LUF and KDU, which strongly opposed all these actions.

The last chapter of the report is a survey of future tobacco policy. There are many indications that the tobacco issue will continue to be a low priority and will not take place in political debates and election campaigns in the future. A generally low commitment, which could be seen among today’s young politicians, is also linked to a low level of knowledge in the tobacco area. That makes future members of parliament easier targets for tobacco lobbyists’ attempts at political influence.

It is likely that the tobacco policy of the future will not be so much about smoking, but instead about white snuff, despite the fact that smoking is still one of the biggest causes of illness and premature death in Sweden that can be avoided. The use of white snus has increased sharply among young people and engages young politicians significantly more than smoking. In 2021, Kantar Sifo, a company that performs public opinion studies, interviewed 2,000 Swedes on behalf of Tobaksfakta. The survey shows that 78% of respondents opposed the launch of white snus, as they understood that the product is both harmful to health and addictive. However, the tobacco industry seems to have succeeded in portraying the product as harmless to large groups of the population and also to many politicians. The tobacco industry will continue to invest large resources in lobbying for white snus to be deregulated and thus consumed by more young people. If large groups of young people end up in lifelong addictions to the product, the long-term financial profits of the tobacco companies will be secured.

Despite the fact that today there is widespread opposition to white snus among the population, the future political battle over the product is uncertain. Among the interviewed youth associations, Young Left, Social Democratic Youth League and Young Greens wanted to regulate white snus more strictly than today, including by stopping marketing and flavorings. Other youth associations want to deregulate and introduce measures that would rather increase consumption of the product. At the same time, the red-green youth associations criticized the influence of tobacco lobbyism on Swedish politicians and wanted to regulate lobbyism. In contrast, conservative and Sweden Democratic youth associations saw no problem with Swedish politicians having close contacts and exchanges with tobacco lobbyists. Which side the tobacco industry prefers is not difficult to predict. The future will tell which party will win the future tobacco policy battle.

What does it look like in your country?

Maybe results from the study are unique for Swedish youth politicians. But what if here are similarities amongst youth politicians in your country. What if your youth politicians were in the same situation, being an easy prey for the tobacco lobbying? That would be a serious threat to the European youth´s health!

Together we can plan for an extended evaluation. Let´s share experiences and plans for a serious examination. Contact Nils Lundin for further discussion.

Read abstract from ECToH

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Nicotine is more dangerous than you think

Puffbars, nicotine pouches and tempting flavors

The laws needed
to protect children from nicotine addiction

Talk to your children about tobacco and nicotine addiction

Future tobacco policy – abandoning our youths ́ future health?

maj 11 2020

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Choreography for flashmob – for nicotinefree children

By ceciliaelander Material

On Tobacco Free Day 2022, children danced around Sweden to focus on young people’s right to remain free from nicotine addiction – with the message that they want to remain free from addiction. The dance was performed as a flash mob based on a choreography developed by the Tik Tok duo Nino & Julia.

The choreography is free to use by anyone who wants to raise the tobacco issue in a light-hearted way with young people in, for example, schools or youth centers. Send a mail for more information.

Watch Nino and Julia perform the choreography in its entirety
See tutorial on Tik Tok

Flashmob in the center of Stockholm

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