The Psychosocial Context of Youth Tobacco Use: Neglected or Forgotten

Abstract

Tobacco is a global epidemic killing six million people a year and this,according to theWorld Health Organisation (WHO, 2015), is expected torise to eight million by 2030. It is not just this increasing death toll due totobacco use that is crucial in calling it a public health priority. Tobacco isalso the single most preventable cause of death among the five greatest riskfactors for mortality including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Accordingto WHO, tobacco use is attributed as the cause of more than 70 per centof deaths from lung, trachea and bronchus cancers (WHO, 2015). Thisindicates that a crucial proportion of our productive population die.prematurely because of tobacco use which is totally preventable. Althoughseveral factors are responsible for tobacco use among youth, the psychosocialcontext of young people is primary in the initiation and sustenance ofsmoking, but is seldom targeted in preventive interventions. This article
examines the psychosocial context of tobacco use by the younger generationin relation to smoking and how young tobacco users perceive theadvertisements intended to curb and prevent tobacco use.