Categories
· Health/Science
· Tobacco Control
· Women
· Smokeless
non-USA, by Country
· Cambodia
|
Officials warn that tradition could be an enemy in the fight to change attitudes towards chewing tobacco, a popular activity among Cambodian women
Jump to full article: Phnom Penh Post (kh), 2008-12-23
Author: Written by Chhay Channyda
Intro: WHILE the government prepares to tighten its control over cigarettes through new laws on their promotion and labeling, tradition appears to be winning the battle to discourage a different type of tobacco addiction.
"I have never heard that chewing tobacco causes mouth cancer," said Oum Touch, 87, a nun who lives at Wat Lanka who picked up the habit of chewing tobacco from her mother.
Roughly 600,000 women in Cambodia, most middle-aged or older, chew tobacco, while the majority of men prefer to smoke it, according to Dr Yel Daravuth, national officer for the World Health Organisation's Tobacco Free Initiative.
But while most women are aware that smoking is unhealthy, knowledge about the adverse effects of chewing tobacco is still thinly spread.
"Research by the WHO shows that chewing tobacco can cause women to develop lung and mouth cancer," Yel Daravuth said during a workshop earlier this month, calling on the government to initiate education campaigns that warn against the habit.
Jump to full article » |