Integritus Prime

This past week I was invited to be interviewed in partnership with the Fiji Cancer Society for the Breakfast Show on Fiji One TV. They asked me to weigh in on the behavioral aspects of youth starting to smoke and what could make them quit. This is all to raise awareness as part of World No Tobacco Day, which is May 31 annually. This year’s theme has to do with how to prevent industry from manipulating youth.

In the course of this interview, I learned four horrifying facts:

• 8 million people die globally every year from tobacco use;
• 1.2 million of those are non-smokers;
• Fiji has 3 new lung cancer cases per month; and
• 15% of deaths in Fiji’s main hospital are related to tobacco use.

I have lost people due to cancer, so this topic is close to my heart. What I didn’t realize, and learned from Dr. Margaret Cornelius prior to the interview, is that smoking deposits tar into the lungs. This has various effects:

• Tar deposits harm the lining of air passages (bronchioles) in the lungs;
• The tar deposited in the lungs takes a long time to be removed by the body after quitting;
• Lung capacity is reduced;
• Mucus collects in the lungs, increasing risk of infection; and
• Risk of cancer increases due to tar, which contains many chemicals.

At the interview preparation meeting, I also learned that cigarettes contain 7000 chemicals, and that many types of cancer result from smoking, not just lung cancer. Examples include mouth, and throat cancer, In addition, Dr. Margaret explained to me that smoking affects all the organs in the body. Tobacco use increases the risk for heart diseases, strokes, amputations in people with diabetes, and premature deaths.

I went ahead and contributed to the interview and to an article for the Fiji Times, in which I laid out some of the behavioral landscape to consider. I share these below with a few edits:

From a behavioral science perspective, it is critical to understand the social, environmental, cognitive, behavioral, and personal factors that govern a youth’s decision to start smoking. Some considerations:

• Typically, youth see smoking as “cool,” for instance in movies, “mature,” or socially necessary due to peer pressure – they want to be accepted in their social groups.
• When parents smoke, children subconsciously perceive the behavior as familiar and acceptable, taking it up as a habit in their own lives.
• High stress from navigating school or university life, jobs, family challenges, romantic relationships, or financial difficulty can also trigger youth to smoke and experience temporary relief – the dopamine “high” – to cope with stress.
• Targeted advertising using social media channels that teenagers frequent, such as SnapChat or Instagram, encourage smoking.
• Also, the placement of cigarette packets near supermarket checkout counters next to sweets, signals that it’s a treat that young people should have.

Youth are consciously and subconsciously seeking to establish their identities, so advertising tactics can cleverly lead them to explore smoking. This is dangerous, because identity is a sustained motivation for any behavior. The highly addictive properties of nicotine, combined with these social and cognitive influences, make quitting exceptionally difficult. It may be much easier to resist ever starting.

What may help smokers to quit smoking and live longer, healthier lives, is the following. You may save a life by being part of one or more of these helpful mechanisms:

1. A supportive family and peer network;
2. Healthy alternative behaviors such as exercise, healthy diets, youth volunteer group activities, mentors and role models who encourage wellness;
3. Resources for stress management such as coaching, counseling, meditation, and journaling;
4. The belief that they can successfully quit, and can make use of support for quitting;
5. A strong personal identity that values wellness.

Check out the interview, and share your thoughts about youth, smoking, and quality of life.

My sincere thanks to Darisha Datt of the Fiji Cancer Society for the opportunity to interview and learn some facts about the effects of tobacco, and to Dr. Margaret Cornelius for wellness perspectives. Both provided information that helped in writing this blog.