November 2022
Farmers’ shift from tobacco farming will save lives
In March this year, hundreds of farmers in Migori county, transitioned from risky tobacco farming to production of more sustainable crops, through the Tobacco-Free Farms Project. It was a joint initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in collaboration with the...
Tobacco product tax effective in reducing cigar use
Earlier this month the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary announced an intention to raise taxes on e-cigarette products during the annual budget statement presentation to Parliament. This announcement was received with excitement and condemnation in equal measure from tobacco control enthusiasts and the tobacco industry, respectively. In recent years, innovation in the tobacco industry has led...
MWANGI: Why killer cigarettes are still around
By late 1953, the tobacco industry faced a crisis of calamitous scope. Smoking had been positively linked to the dramatic rise of lung cancer. It worked to condemn, confuse and erode the very science that now threatened to destroy its prized, highly popular and exclusive product. The tobacco industry has been seeking since the 1950s to...
Tobacco sellers fight back
The tobacco industry has been seeking influence by funding research that supports its business and suppressing studies unfavourable to its positions. By late 1953, the industry faced a crisis. Smoking had been linked to the rise of lung cancer. Though health concerns had been raised for decades, there was a powerful expansion and consolidation of...
Tobacco use wanes in West, grows in Africa
Research is pointing to growing tobacco use in Africa while the reverse is true elsewhere. This is as worrying as it’s perplexing, considering the sustained anti-tobacco use campaigns carried out on the continent by lobbies. In a University of Chicago report, researchers who created a Tobacco Atlas after surveying 63 countries say there are more...
COP 27 Side Event: Tobacco and environmental impacts
Tobacco consumption as an environmental sustainability issue: environmental impact of tobacco products and proposed solutions that complement the solution for its negative health effects Date: 17 November 2022 Time: 12h00 GMT, 2pm in Egypt Location: Turkiye Pavilion The world’s attention is being focused on Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt where the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United...
Increase taxes on tobacco products – NGO advocates
Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has advocated a hike in taxes on tobacco products in the country. According toVALD’s Programmes Director, Labram Musah, increasing the tax on these products would reduce its consumption as tobacco related deaths exceeded 6,700 annually in the country with an economic burden estimated at GH¢ 97 million. He...
Expose Big Tobacco role in climate change
In Summary The tobacco industry is a major driver of deforestation, which is another significant contributor to carbon emissions. Research continues to show that the tobacco industry cuts down over 500 million trees every year to produce cigarettes. The Egypt government is hosting the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27), with a...
