This blog is the back up collection of all tobacco control blog posts by Jackie Tumwine written from 2006 to 2009 on the subject of tobacco control and Africa.
The original blog was called “The blog of Jackie Tumwine” ( Tagline: Blogging about tobacco control news and developments in Africa). That blog, which was on a hosted typepad site, has since been made innacessible/ deleted.
Liberia ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 15th September 2009. Liberia’s ratification brings the total number of FCTC Parties to 167.
Currently 40 of 46 countries in the AFRO region have ratified the FCTC. They include: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia.
The following 6 out of the 46 countries in the AFRO region have NOT YET ratified or acceded to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC): Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke through comprehensive tobacco advertising bans, price and tax increases, health warning labels on tobacco products, measures to protect people from second-hand smoke among other tobacco control strategies.
By Jackie Tumwine
Sao Paulo- Brazil’s most populous city- has banned smoking in public places. Under the law, owners of establishments are liable to fines of up to about $800 for the first two violations. Further violations would lead to temporary closing of the establishments.
The law is strict and only exempts premises that exclusively sell tobacco. Brazil is a party to the WHO Framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC) which enjoins parties to, among other others things, implement measures to protect people from second-hand smoke.
By Jackie Tumwine
Below is the speech of the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Luis Sambo, on World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2009:
Tobacco Health Warnings
Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. Today, on World No Tobacco Day, we seize the opportunity to remind everyone that more than five million people die from the effects of tobacco every year — this is more than all deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. It is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as directed by the manufacturer.
Smoked tobacco in any form causes up to 90% of all lung cancers and is a significant risk factor for strokes and fatal heart attacks. Second-hand smoke harms everyone who is exposed to it and has serious and often fatal health consequences such as sudden infant death syndrome. Smokeless tobacco is also highly addictive and causes cancer of the mouth, neck, oesophagus and pancreas as well as many oral diseases. Some forms of smokeless tobacco also increase the risk of heart disease and low-birth-weight in babies.
Through advertising and promotional campaigns, including the use of carefully crafted package designs, the tobacco industry continues to divert attention from the deadly effects of its products.
Article 11 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires signatories to carry on all packages “health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use” and recommends that the warnings contain pictures. Nine out of ten people live in countries that do not require warnings with pictures on tobacco packages.
Tobacco health warnings containing both pictures and words are effective in motivating and convincing users to quit and to reduce the appeal of tobacco for those who are not yet addicted. Picture warnings convey a clear and immediate message, even to people who cannot read.
We need therefore to campaign for picture-based health warnings on all tobacco packages. These have been found to work in countries that have required their use. Smokers in those countries said that the warnings made them think more about the health effects of smoking; they made them change their opinion about the health consequences of smoking and also helped them to make efforts to quit. The warnings also made them smoke less and avoid smoking in front of children.
The main message of the 2009 World No Tobacco Day is that health warnings on tobacco packages that combine text and pictures are some of the most cost-effective ways of increasing public awareness of the serious health risks of tobacco use and of reducing tobacco consumption.
In our Region, most of the countries do not mandate package warnings that meet all the criteria for effectiveness. We encourage these countries to adopt tobacco health warnings that meet all the criteria for maximum effectiveness, such as covering more than half of the package with the warning and pictures or placing them on both the front and back of the package.
We hereby appeal to governments and policy makers to require by law that all tobacco products display large picture warnings about the harm caused by tobacco and its many other negative consequences. Your decisions should be based on impartial scientific evidence, not on the claims of the tobacco industry. Tobacco companies oppose strong health warnings, particularly those with pictures. The arguments they use against health warnings are false and should not be relied upon.
We are also calling on civil society and nongovernmental organizations to advocate for picture-based warnings on all tobacco products and to campaign for and help to develop and implement laws that require picture-based warnings on tobacco products.
Finally, we appeal to the public to demand the right to know the whole truth about the dangers of tobacco use and of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. You should show the example by letting everyone know that you support picture warnings.
Requiring warnings on tobacco packages is a simple, cheap and effective strategy that can greatly reduce tobacco use. Now is the time to act if we are to reverse the tobacco epidemic and save lives.
On 7th November 2008 Guinea Bissau became the 161st Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Guinea Bissau’s ratification of the FCTC brings the total number of Parties from the WHO Afro region to 37 (out of 46).
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to Continue reading
The third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) will be held in Durban, South Africa, beginning this Monday the 17th until 22nd November 2008. The meeting will attract government delegates from 160 nations that have ratified the FCTC, as well as many NGO delegates. Several issues concening the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control will be up for discussion.
Hot on the agenda will be: Continue reading
The Namibian Cabinet has given the Ministry of Health the go ahead to table the long-awaited Tobacco Products Control Bill in the National Assembly soon, reports the Namibian Newspaper.
Full story:
Namibia: Tobacco Control Law Coming Soon
CABINET has given the Ministry of Health the green light to table the long-awaited Tobacco Products Control Bill in the National Assembly soon. The Bill aims to make Namibia comply with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires parties to “adopt and implement effective legislative, executive, administrative and/or other measures for Continue reading
