December 2020
New WHO report reveals that while smoking continues to decline among European adolescents, the use of electronic cigarettes by young people is on the rise
Tobacco use among young people in the WHO European Region remains a public health concern. Despite the overall downward trend, several countries of the Region observed an increase in tobacco use prevalence among young people in the latest round of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. While cigarettes remain the most used form of tobacco...
Opinion: Stopping Big Tobacco from deeper interference in Africa
There was a time when tobacco companies could market their deadly and addictive products with cartoon characters, svelte women and handsome cowboys. Decades later, with growing evidence and public awareness of the harms of tobacco use, such unscrupulous advertising has been outlawed in many countries. Now, there is increasing evidence that the purveyors of cigarettes and other tobacco and nicotine products...
Nigeria: Committee to discourage youths from smoking with National Tobacco Control Act
The National Tobacco Control Committee has pledged to enforce the National Tobacco Control Act and Regulations to discourage Nigerian youths from smoking at early age. NAN recalls that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had on Wednesday inaugurated the committee to implement the new gazetted 2019 National Tobacco Control Act and Regulations. Okoeguale, a former...
South Africa: Children must be protected from the glamourised promotion of e-cigarettes
In malls, colourful e-cigarette kiosks are in plain sight of children. The sleek and youthful designs capitalise on the world’s move towards gadgets and technology. Youth-friendly flavours such as ‘gummy bear’ create a perception that these products are safe. A crucial part of tobacco control policy is stopping young people from starting to use tobacco...
Turbulence surrounding tobacco control in Ghana
Public health experts were alarmed by September's news that Ghana's Revenue Authority (GRA) had inked a major five-year contract with British security printing company, De La Rue. The tender aimed to create a track-and-trace tax stamp system to combat the lucrative illicit tobacco trade, which costs governments around the world an estimated $40 billion...
Global Tobacco Index Country Ranking: Ghana Can Perform Better
The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), has expressed concern about the continuous tobacco industry interference in public health policies in Ghana and urged the government to improve transparency in its engagement with the industry. It said in a recent global tobacco industry interferences index ranking report, Ghana scored 58 while Uganda, Peru and the United...
Kenya: Don’t grant cigarette makers tax holiday
By ELIZABETH MBUGUA AND CELINE AWUOR In response to the global tobacco control efforts to fight the prevalence of tobacco use, which results in more than 8 million deaths annually, the tobacco industry is now pushing the agenda of introducing “less harmful” products. One such product that was introduced in 2019 by British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya...
Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020
Introduction While the COVID-19 pandemic has made public health a top priority across the globe, it has also put a strain on health departments, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, which are already burdened with a massive health bill from tobacco-related diseases and death. The tobacco industry, which is responsible for more than 8 million deaths...
