Ivory Coast: journalists and communication professionals mobilized for a tobacco-free CAN

The Media Conference against Smoking, Alcoholism and Drug Addiction in Côte d'Ivoire (COMTAT-CI) is joining forces with the government to ensure that the African Cup of Nations (CAN) takes place without tobacco.

The 34th will be held in Ivory Coast^th edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN), from January 13 to February 11, 2024. Led by the Media Conference against Smoking, Alcoholism and Drug Addiction in Côte d'Ivoire (COMTAT-CI), an initiative entitled ''Ivoire Can 2023 without Tobacco'' aims to place this sporting competition under the banner of public health[1]COMTAT-CI brings together journalists and communications professionals who wish to get involved in the fight against addictive practices; it has been particularly involved in the issue of smoking since 2014.

Implementation of anti-smoking action during the CAN

Several deadlines have already been set for August 29, 2023, during preparatory meetings between COMTAT-CI and representatives of the Directorate of Professionalization of Spots and the Directorate of Sport for All, two structures dependent on the Ministry of Sports.

The "Ivoire Can 2023 without Tobacco" project will thus be officially launched on October 6, 2023 from the Abidjan Plateau city hall. Then, on December 15, 2023, training on tobacco will be offered to the organizers of the CAN 2023. A sporting event will then be held at the Alassane Ouattara stadium in Ebimpé, during the qualifying phase of the competition.

The stated objective of this project is to ban the sale and consumption of tobacco products, as well as alcohol and other drugs, around and inside the five stadiums where the sporting events will take place across the country. This ban will be extended to the cities dedicated to the CAN, hotels and restaurants, bus stations and other public places during the final stages of the CAN. Supported by a poster campaign, awareness-raising activities for supporters and residents will also be held in the cities concerned.

Dissociating sport and smoking

This involvement of COMTAT-CI is part of the fight against smoking in Côte d'Ivoire and aims in particular to support the National Program to Fight Smoking, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction and Other Addictions (PNLTA).

This involves making a clear distinction between sport and smoking, and protecting the public from exposure to tobacco smoke by enforcing the smoking ban in public places and on public transport. The 2019 Tobacco Control Act also prohibits the sale or offering of tobacco products in, around and within a radius of two hundred metres of sports and cultural facilities, as is also the case for educational or healthcare establishments. The involvement of civil society also helps to give greater weight and resonance to the public health actions implemented by the authorities.

Côte d'Ivoire has already taken several important decisions that place it among the African countries most involved in the fight against tobacco. The principle of standardized neutral packaging for cigarettes was thus adopted in January 2022, but still needs to be put into practice.

Keywords: Ivory Coast, COMTAT-CI, Ivory Coast Can 2023 without Tobacco, sport, illicit trade.

MF

[1] Can 2023 – COMTAT-CI promotes the project “Ivoire Can 2023 without Tobacco”, Ivorian Connection, published on August 29, 2023, consulted on August 31, 2023.