The Consumer Council of Fiji recently released a report, ‘Smoke Signal: Understanding the Drivers of Suki Consumption in Fiji 2024’, which probes the current tobacco control situation in Fiji, with special emphasis on suki, a traditional tobacco product. The report noted that the current Tobacco Control Act (2010) is ambiguous about the regulations pertaining to suki, making it hard to regulate and raise awareness about its health risks.
The survey indicated a significant gender imbalance in suki use with 70 per cent of all consumers being males. Around 26 per cent were within the age bracket of 25 to 34, illustrating the susceptibility of this group to the tobacco product due to peer pressure and societal norms. The report suggests health campaigns targeting this group could focus on the negative repercussions of early suki consumption and propose healthier lifestyle options. It also revealed demographic patterns suggesting that older users may have more established and harder to break habits.
Data on suki consumption revealed that 12 per cent of respondents had started using suki within the last year and 36 per cent had been using it for one to three years, highlighting a possible recent increase in suki use and a shift from cigarettes. Around 60 per cent had been using suki for at least 5 years.
53 per cent of respondents indicated daily suki consumption, suggesting a concerning dependency and a need for more accessible public health programs to address this. More worryingly, 26 per cent of respondents admitted to using suki for more than a decade, increasing their risk for severe health consequences.
Geographically, 59 per cent of suki users were from rural areas, which could be a reflection of limited access to commercially made cigarettes in these regions. Suki was reported as being very easy to obtain, with 83 per cent of respondents finding it easy to access this product from local shops, making quitting harder due to its ubiquity.
These revelations underscore the need to address suki use carefully within cultural contexts, explore novel strategies for managing triggers, and consider the ease of access when designing cessation strategies.