Africa: Several countries strengthen their anti-smoking laws
August 17, 2022
Par: National Committee Against Smoking
Dernière mise à jour: August 17, 2022
Temps de lecture: 5 minutes
Several African countries, including Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon have recently announced a strengthening of the fight against tobacco in their countries in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). The strong demographic growth of African countries translates into a very young population which makes it a prime marketing ground for the tobacco industry.
The evolution of smoking in Africa is plunging this continent into a worrying health situation. Between 1986 and 2016, the number of smokers increased by 52% and, if nothing is done, Africa will become the region in the world where smoking is the most prevalent. With 80 million smokers today, Africa is expected to see the number of cigarette-related deaths double by 2030.
Sierra Leone becomes 38th country with smoke-free laws in WHO African Region
Sierra Leone lawmakers have just unanimously adopted a law on August 3, 2022[1] to protect its population from the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine products. This law fully implements the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) (ratified by Sierra Leone in 2009), as it aims to control and regulate the production, manufacture, importation, packaging, labelling, advertising, promotion and sponsorship, sale and use of tobacco, tobacco products and other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes. Finally, this law prohibits all forms of smoking in public places and all forms of advertising for tobacco and nicotine products.
The tobacco epidemic is increasing in Sierra Leone. The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS2019) estimated that about 18% of men and 3% of women aged 15-49 years were tobacco users and this prevalence of smoking is increasing mainly among the youth.
Strengthening the legal framework around tobacco industry interference in Gabon
In Gabon, the Ministry of Health organized on August 2, 2022, in collaboration with WHO, a legal capacity building workshop on the prevention of tobacco industry interference in the country and the importance of multisectoral action in the context of the FCTC to strengthen the national fight against tobacco.[2]-[3].
Gabon, with Law No. 006/2013, has introduced measures for the fight against tobacco and against interference from the tobacco industry. Despite this law, lobbying by the tobacco industry continues to be very important within government bodies, as highlighted by theInterference index 2021 Tobacco Industry Report that denounces the industry's involvement in the establishment of tobacco tax policy.
This workshop was an opportunity for the various stakeholders in the fight against tobacco to reflect on the mechanisms and devices for supervising the sale and use of new tobacco and nicotine products on the national territory. For the representative of WHO Gabon, Dr. Bagayoko Magaran Monzo, these products, which are not without health risks, are promoted by the tobacco industry with the sole objective of pursuing its profits by recruiting young new consumers by making them addicted to nicotine.
Ivory Coast: WHO trains journalists on anti-tobacco fight
WHO, in collaboration with the National Programme to Combat Tobacco and Other Addictions (PNLTA) and the Network of Communicators for the Fight against Tobacco and Alcoholism in Schools and Universities (RECLTASU), organized a workshop in early August to strengthen the capacities and knowledge of media professionals in the fight against tobacco.[4].
Journalists were trained on the tobacco industry's many interference maneuvers to block the fight against tobacco, but also on the FCTC and its additional protocols, and the legislation and regulations on tobacco control in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of such a workshop is to lead journalists to be relays of the fight against tobacco to better inform the population of the dangers of tobacco, while fighting against the misinformation pursued by the tobacco industry and its allies.[5].
Keywords: Africa, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Ivory Coast, tobacco control, FCTC, WHOAE
[1] Sierra Leone becomes 38th country with tobacco control laws in WHO African Region, WHO Regional Office for Africa, published 5 August 2022, accessed 11 August 2022 [2] Loic Ntoutoume, Anti-tobacco fight: Gabon tackles the new strategy of ash merchants, Gabon Review, published August 10, 2022, accessed August 11, 2022 [3] Henriette Lembet, Gabon: Health Ministry at war with tobacco industry, Gabon Media Time, published on August 7, 2022, consulted on August 11, 2022 [4] Mael Hope, Tobacco control: WHO strengthens capacities of media professionals, Africa on 7, published on August 5, 2022, consulted on August 11, 2022 [5] Journalists' proposals for greater effectiveness in the fight against tobacco, L'infodrome, published on August 7, 2022, consulted on August 11, 2022 National Committee Against Smoking |
