June 2023
Tobacco use in Africa: Surveys show who needs help
In low-income countries, smoking is often associated with low social and educational status. These consumers do not have the means to pay for advice and medication. Tobacco use represents a heavy health and economic burden worldwide. The research valued that in 2019, around 8 million deaths were attributable to smoking. Tobacco also reduces years of healthy life : about...
Adriana B. Marquizo: Tobacco control deserves attention as climate change mitigation
The Head of Secretariat of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) Adriana Blanco Marquizo spoke to Vincent Owino on how the region can step up tobacco control. Your country, Uruguay, is among the few countries that have successfully become smoke-free. What lessons can Kenya and East Africa pick up on tobacco...
African countries fight for tobacco control
A lack of resources and interference from the tobacco industry make it difficult to strengthen anti-smoking regulations. Fastone Goma, a physician and chair of the Zambia Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, has been working for more than 15 years to pass tobacco cessation legislation in Zambia. Bills have gone to several ministers of health, agriculture and commerce,...
Tobacco smoking: It’s time to stop the initiation ceremony
Films are a preferred source of entertainment and learning for many, and audiences are often quick to mirror in their daily lives what they have seen on screen. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which Nigeria ratified on October 20, 2005, requires parties to implement a comprehensive ban on Tobacco Advertising,...
Zanzibar to ban Shisha and E-cigarette smoking
Authorities in Zanzibar are set to impose a ban on import and consumption of Shisha and E-cigarettes saying it was being consumed carelessly in public places. In a communication to the public, Zanzibar’s Minister of State, Office of the President, Regional Administrations, Local Governments and SMZ Departments, Masoud Ali Mohammed said government will issue a...
Alarming tobacco use statistics paint a grim picture
In Summary We ought to be careful that the globalisation effort does not lead us deeper into the tobacco addiction abyss. It is common knowledge that today, novel tobacco products have taken over the internet by storm and the youth are the primary target. The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada)...
Africa Young Ambassadors Summit (AYAS): A regional summit to engage youths in tobacco control
From June 12th to 16th, 2023, the Africa Young Ambassadors Summit (AYAS) took place in Cape Town, South Africa. This summit, organized by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in collaboration with the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), brought together 24 young ambassadors from Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, and South Africa. It aimed to equip young...
It’s Time to Ban Cigarette Filters
The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution (INC-2), held in Paris, France, from May 29 to June 02, 2023, concluded with optimism and the prospect of ending plastics pollution. Over 700 delegates from 169 Member States agreed to prepare a zero draft of agreement ahead of the third session in...
