Introduction
Tobacco use has been considered a major cause of diseases and death. Smoking cigarettes is harmful harms almost all body organs because it causes multiple cancers, heart failures, and lung infections. However, millennials who live more dangerously and settle down later are considered to create a new generation of smokers and users of e-cigarettes (Perry et al., 2018).
Summary
Over the last two decades, there is an increased number of smokers and users of e-cigarette among millennials. Historically, it was a social norm that almost everything started at the age of 18. It is not the case today as millennials are trying things at a very young age. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health analysed data between 2006 and 2013. The study showed the rate of new cigarette smokers among millenials was 6.3%. This was almost three times higher than onset among adolescents, which was recorded as1.9% during the time (Perry et al., 2018). However, this can be reduced through government policies that will target early intervention with more emphasis on educating the youth. Early intervention will show the youth the profound effects of smoking on the consumption of tobacco products.
Causes of Smoking Among the Youth
To date, there is no doubt that the nicotine component in tobacco is the reason why most smokers constantly expose themselves to known toxins. According to Philip Morris, people become smokers by exposing themselves to nicotine (Hwang & Park, 2019). Smoking is very addictive and has become popular over the last two decades. Although the discussion of whether tobacco smoking is a choice or an addiction is repeatedly presented in the media as a proposition, Hwang and Park (2019) consider smoking behaviour among the youth to include both cognitive and non-cognitive elements. Nevertheless, until the 1980s, most of the programs and policies for controlling the use of tobacco ignored smoking behaviour as an addiction. Instead, their attempt to reduce the use of tobacco relied primarily on an informed consumer orientation.
Contemporary Solutions
Consumer Information
Strategies that increase the value and level of information can help control smoking, particularly in low and middle-income states with low awareness levels among the youth. Likewise, the warning tags on the packets can reduce smoking.
Banning Advertisements and Promotions
The examination of advertisement bans is a good way to determine the impact of smoking (Mukherjee & Mishra, 2019). Therefore, wide-ranging tobacco advertisement bans could cut its use.
Regulatory Guidelines
Strategies aimed at preventing tobacco use in workplaces and public places can reduce cigarette smoking. Such strategies can work well with robust social consent against tobacco use in such areas (Mukherjee & Mishra, 2019).
Increasing Tobacco Taxes
Increasing taxes is the most workable intervention method used to cut tobacco demand. Cave, Kurz and Arlett (2019) point out that high prices of tobacco consistently and significantly reduce the use of tobacco. The youth, persons from low-income states, and illiterate people respond more to changes in price. The government should therefore target early intervention and emphasize more on youth education.
References
Cave, A., Kurz, X., & Arlett, P. (2019). Real‐world data for regulatory decision making: challenges and possible solutions for Europe. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, 106(1), 36.
Hwang, J. H., & Park, S. W. (2019). Gender differential secular trend in lifetime smoking prevalence among adolescents: an age-period-cohort analysis. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-8.
Mukherjee, S., & Mishra, U. S. (2019). Government interventions on tobacco control in India: A critical review. Indian Journal of Human Development, 13(2), 183-194.
Perry, C. L., Pérez, A., Bluestein, M., Garza, N., Obinwa, U., Jackson, C., … & Harrell, M. B. (2018). Youth or young adults: which group is at highest risk for tobacco use onset? Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4), 413-420.
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