Europe’s young women are at risk from tobacco because of the exploitation of the new social media and mobile phone technology by promoters, health officials warned yesterday.
This is creating a "lethal combination", according to the World Health Organisation, speaking ahead of World No Tobacco Day today.
Some 22 per cent of women in Europe smoke – with almost as many women as men now smoking in the UK, Scandinavia and other countries such as Austria and Ireland.
In much of eastern Europe more girls than boys use tobacco – in countries such as Bulgaria, Poland and Croatia, according to WHO.
In countries such as Russia marketers are able to get away with targeting women – and one international women’s magazine contributed to a doubled increase in female smoking, it is claimed.
The industry portrays smoking as a symbol of "empowerment, emancipation and success," according to WHO.
European regional director Zsuzsanna Jakab said: “Smoking behaviour is typically established during adolescence and the tobacco industry shamelessly profits from the vulnerability of girls of this age, targeting them as new cigarette addicts.
"There is a complete conflict of interest between the health of the population and a tobacco industry that sees low smoking rates as a market opportunity."
Globally WHO warned of "increasingly aggressive" attacks by the industry on policies aimed at reducing smoking rates.
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