During this Friday, the Undersecretary of Public Health, María Teresa Valenzuela, launched the new warnings that tobacco products will have, this within the framework of World Cancer Day.
“Today marks World Cancer Day. In Chile, this became the main cause of death in the country, displacing diseases of the circulatory system,” Valenzuela said.
“Tobacco use is a global epidemic. Tobacco kills 7 million people every year, 6 million active smokers and almost 900 thousand affected by smoke, that is, passive smokers. Of these, 1 million are people from the Americas,” he added.
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Consumption in Chile
In the midst of the campaign, the health authority reported that in our country 52 people die per day due to tobacco use. These numbers represent 16% of all deaths in Chile.
In economic terms, it was specified that the damage produced by the cigarette costs the health system more than three billion pesos each year. These figures correspond to the Minsal during 2020.
“Tobacco sickens 62,720 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, 31,358 people with heart disease, 12,580 with stroke, 5,511 with pneumonia and 8,500 people with cancer,” Valenzuela said.
The campaign
Due to this scenario, the Minsal launched this new campaign that consists of four new images that warn about the harmful effects of tobacco.
Valenzuela said that the campaign is mainly aimed at women and adolescents, since according to studies, the consumption of these products begins between 13 and 14 years old.
“We know that tobacco use begins, mainly, between 13 and 14 years of age. That is why for the new warnings it was established as a priority is age group, because they are more susceptible to the environment that surrounds them, they are very influenceable. The goal of these warnings is that people who smoke quit, those who do not smoke, do not do so, and those who have quit, do not relapse. But the overall effort aims to discourage the initiation of consumption in children and adolescents,” he added.
The representative in Chile of the Pan American Health Organization, of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Fernando Leanes, commented that this campaign “is the opportunity to reflect on what the danger of tobacco means and the tactics that the tobacco industry permanently deploys to send you the advances in fingering and prevention.”
“We celebrate and recognize in the global tobacco report 2021, that Chile has consolidated itself among the countries with best practices, with the highest levels,” he added.
The new designs
The new warnings were created after the analysis of three studies and hand in hand with the Tobacco Law that is currently in force in Chile. By May of this year all products must have these designs:
