The Use of Tobacco: Chile, Mexico & Australia

The Use of Tobacco: Chile, Mexico & Australia

Smoking is not only a problem on people’s health it is also a social problem, giving the fact that the use of this substance impacts straight on people’s health and other people who are near of the ones who have this bad habit. Once that you start the habit of smoking it is very difficult to leave it behind. The use of tobacco is one of the main causes of death in many countries. In this abstract will be presented some information such as the effects on smoking, who are the group of people who are more likely to smoke, and what is people doing to control the use of tobacco. All this from the point of view of Chile, México and Australia.

Tobacco, mainly affects the bronchopulmonary and cardiovascular system. Smokers are more likely to suffer other diseases, such as stomach ulcers, heart disease and blood vessels, and if this were not enough, has less immunity to infections than nonsmokers. According to studies on Pan American Health Organization Chile leads tobacco consumption in America. In Australia the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey report, in 2010, 1 in 6 (15.1%) Australians aged over 14 years smoked daily. In Mexico the consumption of snuff in women has increased by 30 percent in recent years.

Among 100 countries surveyed, Chile holds the record for being the country with the most adolescent smokers. In the metropolitan area and Bio Bio, one of three children, aged 13 and 15, smokes. In adolescents imitation is a common behavior, although it depends on individual and social factors. The social environment plays a definitive role in the use of snuff. One factor that promotes consumption among adolescents is the easy availability of the substance, whether in schools or neighborhood with friends. Each year more than 43,000 children start smoking in Australia. The prevalence of daily consumption of snuff among teenagers decreased 4.8% in 2000, 3.6% in 2006 and 2.6% in 2012.

Smoking is a leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia, contributing to more drug-related hospitalizations and deaths than alcohol and illicit drugs combined. Was in the nineties, when Australia became known internationally as a country strict in this matter, to prohibit advertising of tobacco in the media and in any event sponsored by the tobacco industry. The evidence shows that completely ban advertising reduce the number of people who start smoking and continue doing it. This measure is currently being implemented in several countries. Chile and Mexico are one of them.

To reduce substantially the tobacco consumption contributes significantly in the reduce of non-communicable diseases, providing significant benefits not only to the health of the people but for the development and economic growth of each country.

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