Children and young people were able to participate in this event promoting the harmful effects that tobacco causes to health and the environment.
Through Instagram reels, students from the region shared the harmful effects of tobacco to raise awareness about the importance of not smoking in the community. The contest, "Don't Let Cigarette Smoke Go Up to Your World," was sponsored by the Regional Ministry of Health and the Environment.
The call was aimed at students between the ages of 10 and 14 from all educational institutions in the region, considering that, in our continent and country, the age at which tobacco use begins is between 13 and 15.
Carla Castillo, head of the Promotion Program at the Regional Ministry of Health, explained that this week the awards ceremony for the top three winners of the contest took place. The contestants stood out for their powerful and educational messages, freely created by the students. She added that this year, cigarette prevention policies have been approached not only as a health issue, but also from the perspective of its impact on the environment, from its cultivation and production to its distribution, without forgetting the waste it generates.
The students recognized were: Renato Espinoza from Río Seco School (1st Place); Hans Sölner from La Milagrosa School (2nd Place); and Maite Vargas from La Milagrosa School (3rd Place), who received hiking kits that included trekking poles, a backpack, a flashlight, sunglasses, raincoats, and other items.
The topics addressed included psychosocial protective factors that prevent or delay the onset of tobacco use, health risks caused by exposure to or consumption of cigarettes, and environmental damage caused by tobacco smoke and cigarette butts.
Teacher Daniel Andrade, head of health at La Milagrosa School, explained that this event, which was promoted by the Health Squads, provided a unique space for participation and motivated a significant number of students from various classes to present their work on smoking and its consequences.
Hans Sölner, an 8th grade student at La Milagrosa School, said he was motivated to participate because it was a new and different activity that caught his attention. He noted that it's important for him to teach other children and young people the negative aspects of smoking, especially minors, who shouldn't be socializing with tobacco.
National Figures and Consumption
Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals; hundreds of them are toxic and negatively affect almost every system in the body. It also contains at least 69 carcinogens (Tobacco Atlas, 2015).
In Chile, tobacco causes illnesses annually: 62,720 people from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease); 31,358 from heart disease; 12,580 from stroke; and 8,523 from cancer (IECS, 2020). An estimated 52 people die each day from smoking (IECS, 2020), and 32.51% of the population aged 15 to 65 and over is a smoker, or 4,717,448 (ENS 2016-2017).
Tobacco use begins at age 13.9 and increases significantly among schoolchildren from 8th grade to 4th year of high school, with a worrying prevalence of daily tobacco use of 7.3% at this level (SENDA, 2019). The risk perception of the general population who report a "great risk" to their health associated with daily tobacco use was 80.8% in 2020 and has not increased in recent years (SENDA, 2020).
The winning videos can be viewed on the Seremi's various social media platforms.
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