Africa: Several countries strengthen their anti-smoking laws

Several African countries, including Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, and Gabon, have recently announced stronger tobacco control efforts in their countries in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). The rapid population growth in African countries translates into a very young population, making them a prime marketing ground for the tobacco industry.

The rise in smoking in Africa is plunging the continent into a worrying health situation. Between 1986 and 2016, the number of smokers increased by 521%, and if nothing is done, Africa will become the most heavily smoked region in the world. With 80 million smokers today, Africa is expected to see the number of cigarette-related deaths double by 2030.

Sierra Leone becomes the 38th country with smoke-free laws in the WHO African Region

Sierra Leone's lawmakers unanimously passed a bill on August 3, 2022[1] aimed at protecting 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 in 2009 by Sierra Leone), as it aims to control and regulate the production, manufacture, importation, packaging, labeling, 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 growing in Sierra Leone. The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS2019) estimated that approximately 18% of men and 3% of women aged 15 to 49 years were tobacco users, and this prevalence of smoking is increasing mainly among young people.

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, introduced measures to combat tobacco use and tobacco industry interference. Despite this law, tobacco industry lobbying continues to be very strong within government bodies, as highlighted by theInterference index 2021 Tobacco Industry Report denouncing the industry's involvement in the implementation of tobacco tax policy.

This workshop provided an opportunity for various stakeholders in the fight against tobacco to reflect on the mechanisms and systems for regulating the sale and use of new tobacco and nicotine products in the country. For the WHO Gabon representative, Dr. Bagayoko Magaran Monzo, these products, which are not without health risks, are promoted by the tobacco industry with the sole objective of pursuing profits by recruiting young new consumers by making them addicted to nicotine.

Ivory Coast: WHO trains journalists on tobacco control

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].

The journalists were trained on the tobacco industry's numerous interference tactics to block tobacco control, as well as on the FCTC and its additional protocols, and on tobacco control legislation and regulations in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of such a workshop is to encourage journalists to act as anti-tobacco relays to better inform the population about the dangers of tobacco, while combating the misinformation spread by the tobacco industry and its allies.[5].

Keywords: Africa, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Ivory Coast, tobacco control, FCTC, WHO

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[1] Sierra Leone becomes 38th country with tobacco control laws in WHO African Region, WHO African Regional Office, 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: Ministry of Health at war with tobacco industry, Gabon Media Time, published August 7, 2022, accessed August 11, 2022 [4] Mael Hope, Tobacco control: WHO builds capacity of media professionals, Africa on 7, published August 5, 2022, accessed August 11, 2022 [5] Journalists' proposals for greater effectiveness in the fight against tobacco, L'infodrome, published August 7, 2022, accessed August 11, 2022 National Committee Against Smoking |