March is Women’s month, and we honor women and their valuable contributions to society. However, we continue to see stark reminders all around the world that we are still facing struggles unique to their gender, and one such challenge is the deliberate targeting of them by the tobacco industry.

Despite knowing that its products kill 8 million people per year, the tobacco industry carries on its gendered marketing strategy to lure in women and girls to take up smoking or vaping. Two hundred million of the world’s 1 billion smokers are women, and 2 million women die of tobacco use every year. More than 600,000 women die because of secondhand-smoke-related illnesses.

The tobacco industry has a historical precedent of targeted marketing designed to lure specific demographic groups to use their lethal products. In the past, the tobacco industry has made cigarettes attractive to women by marketing them as symbols of freedom and liberation, as well as beacons of sophistication and empowerment. In the United States, the introduction of Virginia Slims, a brand of cigarettes specifically marketed to women by Philip Morris, coincided with a 110 percent increase of smoking initiation rate among 12-year old girls.

In Japan, RJ Reynolds introduced Salem Pianissimo and promoted it as a healthier cigarette exclusively for Japanese women. Smoking among Japanese women, which is currently at 7.7 percent, has always been high compared with most countries in Asia; for example, the rates among women in China are lower than 2 percent. The Pianissimo brand and variations of it, such as Pianissimo One and Pianissimo Petil, in a pink pack, were also marketed to Chinese women. Other gender-specific cigarette brands, such as RJ Reynolds’ Camel No 9 cigarettes, exploit imagery popular among women. Indonesian cigarette maker Sampoerna released Avolution, which is a super-slim cigarette stick in lipstick-inspired packs.

In the latest report to the World Health Organization, 25 countries reported that girls used tobacco at a higher rate than boys.

In 2018, Philip Morris also invested in a public relations campaign called “Empowering Women”, which was implemented in 30 countries, most of which are low- and middle-income countries.

The use of descriptors such as “light” and “ultra-light” misleads women to think that these cigarettes are less harmful. Historically, advertisements were also placed strategically in magazines, TV shows, and societal events that mostly catered to women and girls.

In recent years, vaping products, containing some 16,000 flavors, have boomed globally, hooking a new generation of tobacco users. The tobacco and nicotine industry has used social-media influencers to reach out to youth, especially teenage girls.

But aside from misleading marketing to women and girls, the tobacco industry exposes women tobacco farmers to unfair labor practices. A study found that while women exerted the same or more labor than men in tobacco farms, they still carried out the duties of a mother and a wife at home, which resulted in them working longer hours than men. The health impacts of tobacco farming also affect women disproportionately, and many women tobacco farmers struggle with respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive health issues.

At the recently concluded 10th session of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of the Parties (COP) in Panama (Feb 5-10), Global Youth Voice, a coalition of young people from around the world, made a fervent appeal to the COP to include youth in decision-making and to “shield us from the manipulative practices of the tobacco and related industries.”

The youth, comprising young advocates from around the world, urged government delegations from 143 countries to “end the tobacco industry’s insidious strategy of introducing innovative and alluring features or products and using digital media, including entertainment media, to influence our impressionable minds”.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, “inspire inclusion”, is a good reminder to genuinely invest in women and accelerate progress and ensure that women and girls are protected from the tobacco industry.

Empowering women is a human rights imperative, and every woman and girl in the world deserves to have her right to health and well-being fully fulfilled and protected. Countering the gendered and misleading approach of the tobacco industry aligns with promoting the sustainable development agenda of promoting greater equality and empowering women to live their lives to the fullest potential, free from any health risks from dangerous tobacco products.

Let us use this global commemoration as an effective platform to draw attention to the fact that the tobacco industry has never stopped trying to harm women. Governments must enact policies countering misleading marketing strategies, especially those that specifically appeal to women, and establish smoking cessation programs that cater to women’s unique health needs and sensitivities. Girls should be allowed to grow up free of commercial inducements to smoke or vape.

International Women’s Day is our reminder that the true empowerment of women necessitates a collaborative and comprehensive effort to address challenges unique to our gender. If women are not represented at the highest level of policymaking, in the government and the legislature, in nongovernmental organizations, on committees, and at conferences, then the issues of smoking and women will be marginalized. By exposing the tactics of the tobacco industry and countering these with effective policies, we can build a future in which women are not victims of the harmful health effects of tobacco products and can enjoy truly healthy, happy, and empowered lives.

Val Bugnot is the media and communications manager of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. Judith Mackay is the director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control, based in Hong Kong, and a senior policy adviser to the World Health Organization.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.