The title of the article that I read this week is "Carolina in the Carolines: A Survey of Patterns and Meanings of Smoking on a Micronesian Island". First of all, you might be asking, what/where are the Micronesian Islands? Micronesia is subregion of Oceania. It is made up of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Micronesia is found to the west of the Phillipines and Indonesia.
The title of this study is meant to show the connection between the Caroline Islands, found in Micronesia, and the Carolinas of the United States. This connection comes from the "tobacco road" that originally referred to the tobacco-producing area of North Carolina, and the American manufactured tobacco products that people in Micronesia have now begun to consume.
People in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) were considered to be unusual for not using any psychoactive substances before contacting the outside world. Tobacco was the first of these substances that were brought to the islands, and now they have been exposed to alcohol, marijuana, and betel. However, cigarettes remain the most widely consumed of these substances.
This study looks at the way that cigarettes have been marketed to the FSM and the effect that cigarettes have had on the country as a whole. FSM smokers are hooked on cigarettes and spend a large amount of their small income on purchasing them. The World Health Organization has deemed tobacco use as the number one preventable cause of death. However, cigarettes are continually sold because of the high profit (average profit margin of about 35 cents per cigarette in 1994) and the highly addictive nature of tobacco. In fact, the study found that 20% of smokers in FSM smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day!
Young people are initiated into smoking by taking a drag of another person's cigarette on the islands. This shows some of the cultural motives for smoking in the FSM. The study also found that the islanders prefer Winstons over the previously popular unfiltered Camels. The brands that the islanders prefer may have changed over time, but the study shows that the demand for cigarettes from the United States continues to remain consistent.
its amazing how one trend can turn into a habitat. I do not understand though how it can continue to be legal to smoke when it is proven that it causes so many health problems.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that such an easily "curable" cause of death is still around just because of money. The fact that more isolated and 3rd world countries are still so addicted to cigarettes is entirely our fault. Everyone is aware of it, but hopefully more studies like this will keep that awareness strong. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article, but are they out of the ordinary? How does the US or other countries' smoking habits compare to them?
ReplyDelete