Introduction
The tobacco alliance for tobacco prevention is an organization whose aim is to create a healthier tomorrow whereby, fewer children are introduced to tobacco, exposure of people to secondhand smoking is minimized, and tobacco users can be helped to quit smoking, thus maintaining a tobacco-free lifestyle. According to Calloway, Flrey & Kerath, (2009), “the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention is a coalition of organizations and businesses led by the American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.”
In addition, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention implements its aims in tobacco prevention through its Office on Smoking and Health, dedicated to reducing the consequences of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Indeed, the OSH’s mission is to protect public health from the harmful effects of tobacco use or secondhand smoke (CDC, 2009).
Recent research on tobacco consumption in Georgia has shown that tobacco consumption has increased to alarming rates since 1990, and there has been a relative increase in tobacco-related diseases. For instance, nearly 52.1% and 14.7% of women are on tobacco use (Bakhturidze & Kobeshavidze, 2010). Furthermore, the budget allocation on tobacco-related illnesses has been consuming so much of the taxpayers’ money (Calloway, Flarey & Kerath). The Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention is therefore urging the governor and the legislature to increase funding for tobacco prevention in Georgia to curb the increasing consequences of tobacco consumption among the citizens of Georgia.
Tobacco consumption in Georgia
Tobacco consumption in Georgia has been increasing at alarming rates since 1990, with more than that 35% of the population on tobacco consumption (CDC, 2009). With the rising number of the population on tobacco, tobacco-related ailments have increased considerably and this is evident from the large sums of money allocated by the government to cater for tobacco-related diseases in Georgia. The rising rates of tobacco consumption in Georgia have resulted from transition towards a market economy and the thriving international tobacco industry due to the absence of legislative regulations.
Statistics show that the number of youths on tobacco consumption has increased threefold compared to the 1980’s statistics (CDC, 2009). In addition, most the young people are introduced to tobacco during adolescence and a big percentage gets addicted by the age of twenty. In addition, approximately 3900 teens in the US smoke for the first time daily and “1,000 of those teens will become daily cigarette smokers;” this is a dangerous trend owing to the mortality rate of smoking, meaning that, they are at risk of dying at a very young age (CDC, 2009). To reduce tobacco consumption among the young people, the alliance is planning to campaign against direct advertisement of tobacco in the media. This will greatly prevent the chances of the adolescents and youths being influenced by media into tobacco consumption (Anonymous, 2007, pg 45).
There is a big challenge to tobacco consumption in Georgia especially due to the number of youths consuming tobacco. To make the matter worse, there are no legal regulations on tobacco marketing and consumption, and the existing laws have not been enforced properly. Current statistics show that there is a 3.7% increase in tobacco consumption among men and 1.7% increase among women. However, the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco prevention is concerned with these trends and it is planning to implement policies that will reduce the rates of tobacco consumption in Georgia (Anonymous, 2007).
Dangers of tobacco consumption in Georgia
Tobacco-related illnesses are extremely expensive to treat, apart from being deadly; indeed, many people have been dying annually from tobacco-related diseases, more than any other cause (DHR, 2002) through the efforts to pass the increased bill in 2009 reduced the rate of smoking significantly (Calloway, Flarey & Kerath, 2009, pg 3). Tobacco consumption has been a great challenge to the Georgian community as well as the government.
Primarily, the government has been allocating so much money from the budget to cater to tobacco-related illnesses. Although tobacco has been raising some reliable taxes, only 20% of Georgian has been on Tobacco but the whole population has been carrying the burden since around 2.25 billion dollars of the taxpayer money is usually spent on tobacco-related illnesses. This means that the public does not benefit from tobacco revenue since a similar amount or even more is usually spent to cater to tobacco consequences (Calloway, Flarey & Kerath, 2009).
The prevailing tobacco-related diseases in Georgia are lung cancers, bronchitis, emphysemas, asthma, and heart diseases. In the year 2001, 240 000 people fell ill and 11000 persons died of the diseases whereby 3000 of them were passive smokers (Bakhturidze & Kobeshavidze, 2010). Nevertheless, tobacco is widely known for shortening life, thus it is dangerous when young people consume it since their productive life is put at risk.
Objectives of Georgia alliance for tobacco prevention
Considering the rising rates of tobacco consumption in Georgia, the Georgia Alliance for Tobacco Prevention is planning to take a different approach to the fight against tobacco consumption in order to reverse the trend and see it decreasing in the subsequent years. Some of the plans at hand include filing a bill that will raise the cost of cigarettes per pack. This will help in increasing the revenue to cater for tobacco-related illnesses and reducing cigarette smoking among those who cannot afford it. The other plan is to expand tobacco education so that the citizens may be aware of the risks associated with smoking (Dean, 2006). We would also want the government to enforce strict tobacco regulation measures in order to control its marketing, which may include banning direct advertisement (Calloway, Flarey & Kerath, 2009).
Our main objective is to create a healthier tomorrow by putting efforts to reduce the number of children addicted to tobacco, ensuring that the population exposed to secondhand smoke is low, and facilitating a forum where tobacco users can be helped to quit smoking and manage to do without it in their lifetime. Our goals include 1) Prevent young people from being introduced to tobacco consumption. 2) To create awareness and help tobacco users quit smoking. 3) Prevent public health from exposure to secondhand smoke. 4) Identify and eliminate tobacco-related disparities (CDC, 2010).
Recommendations
The national tobacco law should be amended, to check on tobacco consumption and market. The ministry of health should create more tobacco dependence treating centers to help citizens live tobacco-free lives and treat those suffering from its consequences. The government should introduce new and higher taxes and tariffs on tobacco to regulate its market, raise its revenue to cater for tobacco-related illnesses and to suppress its priority among the citizens. To protect the non-smoking citizens from harmful secondhand smoke, the government should set up smoking zones away from public premises and smoking in public should be banned.
Conclusion
Tobacco consumption in Georgia especially among the youths is a very hard situation that requires urgent measures. There are no legal regulations in tobacco control and many Georgians are suffering indirectly or directly from the effects of tobacco. We are appealing to the governor and the legislatures to increase funding on tobacco prevention to enable us to manage the challenges thereof.
References
Anonymous. (2007). The European Tobacco Control Report. Europe, WHO Regional Office Europe. Web.
Bakhturidze, G. & Kobeshavidze, G. (2010). Tobacco Consumption and Health Damages in Georgia. Tbilisi: Tobacco Control Alliance in Georgia.
Calloway, J., Flarey, P. & Kerath K. (2009). Georgia Coalition for Physical Activity and Nutrition. Web.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Office of Smoking and Health. Web.
Dean, M. (2006). Empty Cribs: The Impact of Smoking on Child Health. Frederick: Art and Science publishing.
Georgia Department of Human Resource. (2002). The Burden of Tobacco in Georgia. Georgia: Georgia Department of Human Resources, and Coalition for a Healthy and Responsible Georgia (CHARGe). Web.