Youth conference exposes practices of tobacco industry for recruiting young people

Áine Brady TD, Minister of State launched the conference today, with keynote address given by Dr Crawford Moodie Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Social Marketing, Centre for Tobacco Control Research, University of Stirling. In Ireland, more than half of all smokers start before the age of 15, with 83% starting before they are 18. The tobacco industry needs over 50 young people to start smoking each day in order to remain viable. Dr Moodie states that “Approximately five million people die from tobacco-related illness every year, yet the tobacco industry spends vast sums of money marketing their products. Research clearly demonstrates that tobacco advertising and promotion influences young people to start smoking. The tobacco industry has always claimed that it does not set out to target young people but millions of pages of previously internal tobacco industry documents show that the industry considers the recruitment of under 18yr olds essential to its survival. The tobacco industry needs to recruit new young smokers every day in order to keep them in business and keep their profits, as their customers are dying from their habit or quitting smoking.”

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The conference aimed at 12-18yr olds was well attended by youth groups, individuals, professionals, etc. The conference was used to launch X-HALE (X’ing Out Harmful Addictions and Lethal Effects), a smoke free initiative led by and for young people. X-HALE aim to develop a youth initiative that will give young people the opportunity to voice their opinions on tobacco and influence the smoke free agenda on both a local and national level.

Key messages from X-HALE:

• Inform young people that smoking is an addiction and not just something to do socially, that young people can easily become addicted.
• Informing young people about the manipulative and deceptive practices of the tobacco industry.
• De-glamorizing smoking in film and in the media.
• Informing people that the group is not against smokers.
• Help young people to quit – SMS, daily tips, websites, links to social networking sites.

For further information on X-HALE, contact Siobhain Smyth, Health Promotion Officer
Irish Cancer Society, 01 2310 532, ssmyth@irishcancer.ie