Togo displays the fight against smoking as one of its priorities

After increasing excise duties on tobacco products and setting up a national body dedicated to combating smoking, Togo is now trying to enforce the ban on smoking and selling tobacco in public places and on transport.

The fight against smoking seems to be taking on new dimensions in Togo. Several government decisions adopted in 2023 bear witness to this.

Based on the proven principle of "The more expensive it is, the less you smoke", Togo doubled the rate of its excise duties for tobacco products in February 2023, going from 50 % to 100 %[1]. This significant increase in excise duties, and therefore in the price of tobacco products, is a strong signal in terms of public health. It is indeed the most effective way to reduce smoking prevalence, particularly in low- and middle-income countries by both encouraging people to quit and preventing young people from starting smoking.[2].

Compliance with smoking bans and encouragement to stop tobacco growing

Provided for by a decree of July 2012, the National Committee for the Fight against Tobacco (CNLT), the government body in charge of orchestrating the fight against tobacco, took shape in April 2023. It is chaired by Dr. Kokou Wotobe, also Secretary General of the Ministry of Health. The members of this committee were appointed for a three-year term.[3].

In the wake of World No Tobacco Day, this year's theme is "Growing Food, Not Tobacco" and although tobacco production is marginal in Togo, the Togolese State launched an appeal on June 7, 2023 to the population to abandon tobacco cultivation and replace it with food crops.[4].

Togolese authorities are today emphasizing compliance with the ban on smoking and selling tobacco products in public places, workplaces and public transport.[5] ; This measure was also adopted in July 2012. The objective today is in particular to implement the sanctions provided for by the penal code of 2015, i.e. sentences of one to six months of imprisonment and/or fines of one million to five million CFA francs (i.e. 1,500 to 7,500 euros) for violations of the bans on smoking or selling tobacco to minors. A particular focus is on shisha, which is booming.

Resumption of the fight against tobacco in Togo, after a period of uncertainty

Togo was called to order in 2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its inaction in the fight against smoking. A message that must have carried, since a few years later, in 2020, the Director General of the WHO gave Professor Vinyo Kumako, then head of the Anti-Tobacco Program at the Togolese Ministry of Health, a honorary award for his commitment to the fight against tobacco.

Léonce Dieudonné Sessou, Executive Secretary of the Alliance for Tobacco Control in Africa (ACTA), had on this occasion called on African leaders to intensify their efforts in the fight against smoking. This request seems to have been heard at least in Togo.

Keywords: Togo, tobacco control, smoking ban, sales to minors, WHO.

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[1] Togo – Tobacco excise duty increases from 50 to 100 %, Tabacologue.fr, published on February 14, 2023, consulted on September 12, 2023.

[2] Nargis N, Stoklosa M, Shang C, Drope J, Price, Income, and Affordability as the Determinants of Tobacco Consumption: A Practitioner's Guide to Tobacco Taxation, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2021, 23 (1), 40–47.

[3] Togo: Dr WOTOBE Kokou appointed president of the National Committee for the Fight against Tobacco, Aralile, published on April 11, 2023, consulted on September 12, 2023.

[4] World No Tobacco Day 2023: Togo commits to abandoning tobacco cultivation in favor of food, Togo Réveil, published June 10, 2023, consulted September 12, 2023.

[5] Hetinnon R, Togo: the war against smoking, a government priority, Africa on 7, published on September 12, 2023, consulted the same day.