Children Tobacco Smokers
- Problem identification, a background of the problem and a discussion of those involved
Recent mileage gained on the indulgence of tobacco smoking worldwide has been met with immediate ratification based on a global treaty with the World Health Organization (WHO). It is alarming that three out of every four male persons have proclaimed themselves a smoker in the Asia Pacific region. What is even more gut-wrenching is that our youth form the bulk of the affected population. Despite the global treaty and its efficacy in reducing the pandemic, some nations have openly disregarded the move, and that forms the base of this inquiry. We are now facing a new, slightly worse problem, which is children tobacco smokers! Yes, children under the age of fifteen are reported to form a whopping 16% (Hong et al., 290) of Indonesia’s total smoking population. Where does a kid learn to smoke from? How do they even gain access to cigarettes in the first place?
Indonesia is an Asian country with about seventeen thousand islands on it. According to the World Bank report of 2018, it is home to approximately 267.7 million people. One hundred million of the total population is active tobacco smokers. About 34% of the total smoking population is men and women who are in their late 30’s. The economy has experienced a significant blow since 2013 because a substantial number of the youth population succumbs to tobacco-related fatalities before they can actualize their potential. The country reports about 2 million tobacco-related hospitalizations and complications every year since 2015. In the same, the tobacco industry is the country’s primary source of revenue, and this is the real reason why Indonesia has been unable to adhere to the ratifications by WHO completely. After rice, tobacco is the most commonly purchased household item in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Cumulatively, Indonesia can retail about 317 billion sticks of cigarettes per year, which makes it the second- market worldwide.
The situation is particularly frustrating because children are now being dragged into it. They are robbed of their futures because they either die early or have to live their lives with tobacco-related issues, which reduces their work efficiency. Manual labor constitutes a big chunk of the kind of employment one can access in Jakarta, which means that one needs to be especially strong if they are to earn a living. Tobacco farming is one of the most lucrative businesses there. However, it is associated with a lot of risks such as the green tobacco disease, which disables most of the older generation forcing the youth and children to take charge. Once they learn the ropes, most of them tend to become addicts themselves, and the entire cycle is repeated over and over again.
- Why is the social problem considered a severe issue? Is it increasing? If so, how?
The social problem is a health time bomb. In the heart of Malang, a city in East Java, Indonesia, a young Maulana Susanto aged six is found smoking an average of 2 packs of cigarettes a day. It is his favorite pastime, aside from playing soccer. It is a serious social problem for several reasons. On a broader scale, it is the reason for the continuance of the vicious cycle of poverty. Those who indulge in it are unable to perform basic tasks, let alone provide for their families and themselves. Delving deeper into the psychological effects of cigarette smoking, we look at the carcinogens that are linked to increased anxiety and stress levels. Children who smoke are more prone to depression because of the long term effects associated with the use of cigarettes (Astuti et al., 19). Imagine the composition of toxic metals that are contained in cigarettes such as arsenic, which the children are exposed to while smoking or farming tobacco. Such metals poison the blood and ultimately make one unable to perform certain functions. Children are more vulnerable because their immune systems are not fully formed and, therefore, can experience deformities in the long run. Smoking has been linked severely to reduced concentration and retention. Thus, children cannot fully conceptualize what they learn in class, no matter how bright they are. Smoking among Indonesian children is the leading cause of pneumonia and asthma. The death toll is on an increase as these children are now contracting chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).
Since the beginning of 2016, the problem has been on a steady increase. According to WHO, the number was projected to decrease at about 1.8% by 2017 had the country imposed stringent regulations following the recommendations. A 2018 survey revealed that the percentage had risen by about 1.9% since the previous year. Why then is the menace still on the rise if the country agreed to the stipulated rules as proposed by WHO? A short stroll in the streets of Malang will give you a clear picture of how deep the roots of tobacco smoking are. From Marlboro to Dunhill to other local brands, there is a myriad of cigarette billboards lined up on every tree.
Similarly, several city events ranging from football to concerts are sponsored solely by these tobacco companies. What this essentially means is that tobacco companies have a considerable say in the running of the cities. They can generally influence frameworks and decisions made within the government because of their immense contribution to the country’s economy. Tobacco smoking is not advertised on television sets. There is little to no awareness created by the government and other outlets on the dangers of tobacco. Indonesia is also reported to have the least tax impositions when it comes to cigarettes. Would you believe that there is no age limit as to who can purchase cigarettes in Indonesia? The children can buy the pack themselves and smoke because there is no age restriction. The only significant change that the country made regarding the WHO recommendations is the on-packet warning that serves as a caution to anyone who purchases a pack of cigarettes. Unfortunately, this has not borne much fruit, especially in the fight against children’s’ tobacco smoking, because most of them are still unable to read. Those who can ignore the warning because of the precedent set by those who introduced them to smoking in the first place.
- How the problem can be addressed from a journalist’s perspective, what path would you take if you were to cover the story
Solutions journalism is slowly getting the appreciation it deserves. Many journalists are embarking on missions to overlooked areas to highlight unreported issues that are slowly affecting nations without their knowledge. They can investigate topics such as tobacco smoking menace and present them in an unbiased and raw manner. The issue of child tobacco smokers can be adequately addressed through this approach because not only will the journalist cover the story, but they will also focus on the social response mechanisms already present. A journalist’s perspective will provide a complete view of the Indonesian society in question because the journalist, in this case, will show the problem as well as the current responses. The journalist may eventually set a feedback mechanism for the Indonesian community to address its government on the reality of tobacco smoking in their villages. In this way, measures can be promptly put underway. Through reporting these cases, other third parties and experts alike can provide informed insights hidden social change opportunities in the areas highlighted.
I would focus on a particular region in Indonesia if I were to cover this under-reported heartbreaking story on child smokers. Say, for instance, Yogyakarta. It is referred to as the poorest province in Indonesia. Due to its heavy reliance on tobacco farming, and its relatively lower population compared to the other towns in major cities, it would prove useful for adequate coverage. Due to the specificity of the topic, I would conduct qualitative interviews with children smokers in the presence of their guardians for effective communication. I would also seek information from Tobacco control experts on the effects of tobacco and why the policy changes seem to take too long in the country. It would also prove advantageous to be well versed in Bahasa Indonesian, which is the official language. Upon recording, the sessions would be translated literally for effective presentation. I would then rely in no small extent, on CNN and Al Jazeera as media sources because of their past efforts in broadcasting the story. Upon analysis, I would ensure it is done thematically, based on the causal factors I would have identified before the coverage.
- Sociological concepts
All social problems are predominantly pegged to a sociological concept because of their nature. Smoking of tobacco amongst children is tightly wound around sociological theories ranging from norms and socialization to deviance to role expectations and even life span. The main reason why it is a social problem lies in how it interconnects with these concepts and eventually disrupts them. In the Indonesian society, there are ascribed ways of how people ought to grow and interact for continuity to ensue. These are facets of existence that usually direct a person within a given community to ensure they live up to the standard mark. Any digression of these may cause social problems that then require members of that society to come together and solve because of its consequences, which are borderline fatal. Socialization refers explicitly to how individuals understand and internalize norms that they have been taught since birth. It may apply to a set of codes and processes we are expected to follow to fit in or feel like we do. What that generally means is that we learn of these social cues and whatnots from those closest to us.
The family unit is the most basic primary socialization when we are young. It is easy to blame social problems on external factors, but the root cause is in how we are socialized. Indonesian children are exposed to smoking from the time they are born. Out of every five households, three have the mother, father, and extended relatives for smokers. Most of the children in these villages even admit to being introduced by their older siblings and do not question because of their seniority. There is anticipatory socialization where children automatically pick up some behaviors because it is expected that when they are adults, that is what they will do. For instance, if you see your father smoking, as a child, the assumption is that all adults smoke.
In Indonesia, especially, there is class socialization where children do things because of their economic predisposition. Children from low-income families, whose main jobs are in the tobacco farms, are generally expected to follow suit. Due to the high poverty rates, these children are even sent to the farms as early as ten years old, ending up picking the bad habit of smoking. Therefore, tobacco smoking is more of a socialization defect than it is innate.
- How the problem is being addressed with examples from mainstream media
Fuwad Baraja, an ex-smoker, has dedicated his life to speaking to young children in schools and even performing some sort of aversion therapy. According to the CNN source (Senthilingam), behavioral therapy is comprised of repetitive cigarette comparisons with motions of discomfort. It helps with the association of addictions with discomfort, which causes the children to stop smoking eventually. The combination of bringing awareness with therapy treatments is slowly but surely gaining recognition. Both treatments target psychological healing, where the administrator appeals to the children’s mental state. They use anecdotes of their lives while abusing tobacco and even show some of the physical repercussions that they suffered. Once the children are unnerved, they are asked to commit to stop smoking habits voluntarily. The administrator goes ahead to condition the child by putting a negative spin on the tobacco.
For cigarettes, the one doing the therapy may ask the child to smoke the cigarette repetitively until it evokes a certain feeling of discomfort. In most cases, the children feel nauseous. At times, a chemical substance that causes nausea on its own may be administered, then immediately after, they are given a cigarette to smoke. It is done a couple more times until the child associates smoking with nausea and vomiting to a point where they quit. The method is still quite controversial but is currently the most used to address the problem in Indonesia. It is being done on a tiny scale and with less expertise hence why there is less success rate, and many children revert to their habits soon after.
In 2019, media outlets, specifically television through popular channels, covered the rampant child labor in Indonesia. While looking at the misuse of children under the age of 10 in these tobacco plantations, they also highlighted on effect this has had on the increase in child smokers. A 2020HO report on the tobacco scourge also revealed that the children in many emerging countries fall prey to the industry’s false advertising. The news report explicitly references the amount of tar contained in Indonesian cigarettes that the children have access to.
- The American Solution
The American solution to such a menace would mainly take the framework and preventative route. A complete revolutionizing of the system is necessary. It is primarily because restrictions emanating from the top going down would present up to 10% more efficacy rate as compared to leaving it in the hands of the people themselves. There would be an increase in pictorial health warnings. Using pictures to create awareness has been proven to yield better results, especially among these very impressionable young children. The country would impose higher taxes on the industry to ensure that prices are pushed above income growth rates. The effect of this would be that tobacco consumption would reduce because the children would be unable to purchase them frequently. The government would also probably ban tobacco advertising. Children are quite impressionable, as we had said earlier.
Their attention is caught by these direct forms of advertisements such as billboards. The attraction is further enhanced when these companies sponsor events that they enjoy doing, such as sports. Indirect ads such as free samples and promotions would also be banned because of their allure to children. It is also no surprise that because of the knowledge in the effects of tobacco, there is an increase in illicit trade. These cartels do this to evade tax, and the country runs a risk of an influx of substandard products in the market. These are the worst because children gain quicker access to them, and the effects are even more detrimental. The country would probably improve both their national and sub-national taxing systems and protocols. It would require a lot of collaboration on an international scale, which would also foster future relations as far as America is concerned.