Write a 16 page essay on Tobacco Control Policy.Download file to see previous pages... Two thirds of the effects are to be felt in developing countries. Every year, around 443,000 people perish premat

Write a 16 page essay on Tobacco Control Policy.

Two thirds of the effects are to be felt in developing countries. Every year, around 443,000 people perish prematurely due to exposure to smoke from cigarettes. An additional 8.6 million individuals live illnesses caused by smoking. Despite the risks posed by cigarette smoking, an estimated 46.6 million adults in the US smoke tobacco today. Another 88 million non-smokers are exposed to dangers of cigarette smoking. Fifty four percent of these are children. It is predicted that by 2015, tobacco will account for 10% of the deaths globally (Mathers and Loncar 2006. WHO 2008). Many countries have not succeeded in controlling tobacco totally despite the various efforts made some scholars argue that this failure is motivated by the fact that most counties have not adequately understood the political economy behind tobacco production (Jha, Chaloupka et al. 2006). Most policy makers have even ignored the vitality of these concerns. Perhaps this is why it is impossible to effectively control the consumption of tobacco. The rest of this paper bases on the enormity of the tobacco epidemic. How tobacco use gained popularity A group of European explorers who were off to the New World is credited for the discovery of tobacco. The use of tobacco then gained popularity in Europe and Asia in the following centuries. The manufacturing process of tobacco however began in the 19th century. In the US, tobacco consumption per capita increased enormously in the 20th century. After the Wold Wars, there was widespread advertising of tobacco through television. Concerns as regards the health effects of tobacco only came to the fore in the 1950s. However, the addictiveness of nicotine contained in tobacco was not known until recently. Nicotine addiction continued to influence the demand for tobacco. The turning point in people’s attitudes towards consumption of tobacco changed following the Surgeon General’s report of 1964. The report suggested that smoking of cigarettes was the main cause of cancer and other respiratory diseases. Years following the release of this report have seen regulation of tobacco come into the public limelight. Consequently, the US banned televised advertising of cigarettes in 1971. This saw the usage of tobacco products drop significantly especially among adults in the US. Fascinatingly, the augment in popularity of tobacco is linked to the dawn of television and radio advertising. The popularity of tobacco consumption has declined considerably over the years. The percentage of adult smokers has declined from 45% in 1965 to 20% in 2009. Most countries have begun to enact Legislations and ordinances that make the consumption of tobacco less socially tenable. There has been a decline in the number of youth who take up the practice. The effort to restrict tobacco use has increased over time. Evidence stipulates that the U.S tobacco industry is slowly accepting legislative manacles imposed on smoking. In 2004, both republicans and democrats joined hands in approving the prolonged role for Food and Drug Administration in tobacco control. Dangers of tobacco consumption Tobacco contains over 4000 chemicals. Most of these chemicals are harmful substances like carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and benzene. The substances are also quite addictive. Experts rate nicotine higher than heroin, alcohol and cocaine in terms of addiction and dependency.