In a significant victory against the illicit trade of tobacco products, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has successfully confiscated a substantial quantity of unlawfully smuggled tobacco. The street value of the confiscated products is estimated at GH¢7,951,238.39. The contraband, which entered Ghana through unapproved border routes, was intercepted as part of the...
Ghana’s government has developed a five-year National Tobacco Control Strategy (NTCS) with a goal of decreasing the consumption rate of tobacco in the country, reports The Ghanaian Times. The end goal of the NTCS is to eradicate all tobacco usage. The Ministry of Health, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the World Health Organization and the...
The Eastern Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is encouraging institutions to incorporate anti-smoking education into their programme activities to help increase awareness about smoking risks and promote healthier lifestyles. The authority believes that by integrating anti-smoking education, institutions can play a vital role in preventing the harmful effects of smoking and...
Ghana has banned all recreational use of vaping and e-cigarette products. In a press release, the country’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) states that the “sale, advertisement and recreational use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) such as vapes and other non-nicotine tobacco products by the public” is illegal. However, ENDS can be registered as a prescription-only...
Accra, April 6, GNA – The Ghana NCD Alliance and its partners have called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sign the Excise Duty Amendment Bill, 2022 into law to save the lives of the citizenry from diseases and deaths. The other partners were the University of Ghana School of Public Health, Ghana Academy of...
More than 800,000 Ghanaians continue to smoke annually, while tobacco use kills more than 6,700 people each year in the country. Sixty-six percent of these deaths occur before the age of 70. Mr. Peter Bismark Kwofie, Executive Director, Institute for Liberty, and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), a policy think tank located in Tema, has stated, adding that...
A Consultative Forum for Civil Society Organizations was held on 8th February 2023 in Accra, where Mr. Issah Ali, Executive Director of Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) highlighted the concept of the Tobacco Endgame. He shed light on its effective strategies, global best practices, the opportunities available to Ghana and other areas of reflection. Mr....
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in health led by Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) have called on government to come out with explicit commitment and plan to achieve zero prevalence of tobacco use in Ghana. They further called for a clearly stated government target date within a maximum of two decades to tobacco endgame. Mr Issah Ali,...
The Vision for Alternative Development, Ghana (VALD-Ghana), in conjunction with some civil society organizations, have petitioned Parliament to quickly pass the Tobacco Excise Duty Amendment Bill, 2023. The CSOs noted that the passage of the Excise Duty Amendment Bill will curb the excessive consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages, which causes diseases and death. The...
Breast Care International (BCI), a member of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), has urged the government to impose high levies on cigarettes, and alcohol to support cancer fight. According to Dr. Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, President of BCI, hefty taxes will discourage the use of cigarettes and alcohol in order to stem the cancer cases...
