Youth Targeted by Tobacco Industry On World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2014, CANSA places the focus on tobacco use amongst the youth. Young adulthood is the period when our youth are most susceptible and vulnerable to commence smoking and they are thus a main target for the tobacco industry. We need to protect our youth from the harmful effects of tobacco and the industry’s manipulation to make them nicotine addicts. http://www.cansa.org.za/avoid-tobacco/

2. Did you know?
Young adulthood is the most susceptible and vulnerable
period to start using tobacco products. The resting heart
rate of youth that smoke is faster than those of their peers.
Long-term effects before the age of 18 include chronic
diseases:
• Lung and stomach cancer,
• Stroke and
• Heart disease
Research shows that there is a strong link between active
cigarette smoking in young people and addiction to
nicotine; reduced lung function; lung growth and asthma.

3. Did you know?
• Most people start smoking before the
age of 18 and almost 25% of those
start using tobacco before age 10*
• The global tobacco epidemic kills
nearly 6 million people each year
• More than 600 000 of these are non-
smokers dying from breathing second-
hand smoke
• More than 80% of these preventable
deaths will be among people living in
low-and middle-income countries
*According to the World Health Organization (WHO)

4. Did you know?
Problems that might affect children and youth more
quickly when they use tobacco:
• Bad breath
• Yellow teeth
• Smelly clothes
• More colds and coughs
• Difficulty keeping up with friends when playing sports
• Cigarettes and tobacco products are very expensive!

5. Frequently asked questions about smoking
Q - Is tobacco addictive?
A - Tobacco and second-hand smoke contain over
1,400 dangerous and harmful chemicals that is
inclusive of nicotine, the substance that makes
tobacco so addictive. There is no known safe levels
for second-hand smoke. Tobacco smoke contains
over 300 cancer causing chemicals also known as
carcinogens.
Q - What is smokeless tobacco?
A - Smokeless tobacco products includes snuff,
chewing-tobacco and ‘snus’. Smokeless tobacco,
such as chewing tobacco, snuff and snus also
increases the risk of cancer, especially oral cancers.

6. Frequently asked questions about smoking
Q - Why does South Africa have a Tobacco Products
Control Act?
A - Tobacco-related diseases kill over 44 000 South
Africans and nearly 6 million people worldwide annually,
that is, one person every six seconds which amounts to
one in 10 persons in the world. Tobacco use increases the
risk of cancer of the lungs, oesophagus, mouth, bladder,
pancreas, kidney, stomach, cervix and breast.

7. Frequently asked questions about smoking
Q - Explain second-hand smoke and why is it harmful?
A - Second-hand smoke contains twice as much tar and nicotine per
unit volume as does smoke inhaled from a cigarette. It contains 3X
as much cancer-causing benzopyrene, 5X as much carbon
monoxide, and 50X as much ammonia. Second-hand smoke from
pipes and cigars is equally as harmful. Second-hand smoke causes
lung cancer and contributes to the development of heart disease.
Q - I am under 18 years old, am I allowed to buy tobacco products?
A - The law states that No person shall sell or
supply any tobacco product to any person
under the age of 18 years.

8. Frequently asked questions about electronic cigarettes
Q - What are electronic cigarettes and are they safe?
A - Electronic cigarettes or ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery
systems) are devices whose function is to vaporise and deliver to
the lungs of the user a chemical mixture typically composed of
nicotine, propylene glycol and other chemicals, although some
products claim to contain no nicotine. According to the World
Health Organization, the safety of electronic cigarettes has not
been scientifically demonstrated, the potential risks they pose for
the health of users remain undetermined. E-cigarettes are
controlled by the Medicines Control Council in South Africa and is
available only by prescription in a pharmacy.

9. Frequently asked questions about hookah
Q - Is hookah smoke better than
cigarette smoke because it passes
through water?
A - No, the water does not clean the
smoke. Hookah and cigarette smoke both
contain poisons, including nicotine, tar,
carbon monoxide, arsenic, and lead.
Arsenic is used as a rat poison, and
carbon monoxide is a deadly gas also
found in motor car exhaust. Even in
small amounts, lead can make children
hyperactive, irritable and cause brain
damage.

10. Frequently asked questions about hookah
Q - Does one get less nicotine from a hookah than a cigarette? What
about carbon monoxide?
A - A hookah smoker takes about 100 puffs
in a single (45 minute) session, while a
cigarette smoker takes about 10 puffs per
cigarette. In other words, smoking one
hookah pipe can give you as much nicotine
as smoking 10 cigarettes. Of course, it is
the “tar” in tobacco smoke that causes
cancer. The smoke produced in a typical
hookah smoking session can contain about
36 times more tar, and about 8 times more
carbon monoxide, than the smoke from a
single cigarette.

11. Frequently asked questions about smoking
Q - I am already smoking cigarettes, how
can I quit?
A - CANSA’s eKick Butt programme is a
unique online smoking cessation
programme. Through a series of emails,
surveys and downloads, it guides you and
mentors quitting smoking and non-
smoking becomes a lifelong habit, not
merely the time interval between two
cigarettes. This programme supplies a
series of handy tools – tried and tested –
to help one quit for good.

12. Know the law – it’s your
right to a smoke-free
world
In the Government Gazette of 21
August 2009, Parliament proclaimed
that two Acts which amend South
Africa’s tobacco control laws are now
in operation. The Acts were passed by
Parliament in 2007 and 2008.

13. Know the law – it’s your right to a smoke-free world
Key points in the latest amendments are:
• Adults may not smoke in a car when a passenger under 12 years is present
• Smoking is not allowed in premises (including private homes) used for
commercial childcare activities, such as crèches, or for schooling or
tutoring
• No person under 18 may be allowed into a designated smoking area
• No smoking in partially enclosed public places such as balconies, covered
patios, verandas, walkways, parking areas, etc.
• The fine for the owner of a restaurant, pub, bar and workplace that breaks
the smoking law is a maximum of R50 000 and for the individual smoker
R500
• The tobacco industry can no longer use ‘viral’ marketing like parties to
target young people
• The sale of tobacco products to and by persons under the age of 18 years
is prohibited
• Cigarette vending machines that sell tobacco products cannot be used to
sell other products like crisps, chocolates etc.

14. CANSA
• Encourages all smokers to seek help to quit the
harmful habit of smoking – visit the CANSA
website (www.cansa.org.za) for information on
how to stop the use of tobacco products by
joining CANSA’s free eKick Butt Programme
• Believes that there is no safe level of exposure
to environmental tobacco smoke
• Calls for a concerted effort by all to inform
children and young people about the dangers
of the use of tobacco products
• Urges all parents and guardians to keep their
children away from restaurants and indoor public
places that allow smoking
• Invites all adults to become role models for
children and young adults by not smoking

16. The End
Thank You
www.cansa.org.za
Toll-free 0800 22 66 22
Whilst the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) has taken every precaution in compiling this presentation,
neither it, nor any contributor(s) to this presentation can be held responsible for any action (or the lack thereof) taken
by any person or organisation wherever they shall be based, as a result, direct or otherwise, of information contained
in, or accessed through, this presentation.
Whilst the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) has taken every precaution in compiling this
presentation, neither it, nor any contributor(s) to this presentation can be held responsible for any
action (or the lack thereof) taken by any person or organisation wherever they shall be based, as a
result, direct or otherwise, of information contained in, or accessed through, this presentation.