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The Ministry of Health is to ban tobacco smoking at public places in November.
Mr Abraham Dwumah-Odoom, Deputy Minister of Health, announced this in Accra in a speech read on his behalf at stakeholder sensitisation seminar on the ban of smoking in public places on Tuesday. He said the initiative would help reduce the health risks that tobacco smoking exposed non-smokers to and its resultant impact on the economy.
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The Ministry of Health will, by next month, announce a ban on smoking in public places.
That is the first step in the ministry's bid to protect non-smokers, including children, from the deadly effects of tobacco. Passive smoking or the inhaling of second-hand smoke has been proved to be as dangerous as smoking itself, since it also causes serious illnesses such as heart and lung diseases, as well as cancers.
In a speech read on his behalf at a stakeholders sensitisation workshop on the ban on smoking in public and workplaces held in Accra, a Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. Abraham Dwoma Odoom, said in spite of the challenges that the ministry was likely to face, it had to embark on the ban to protect non-smokers from tobacco-related diseases and possible death.
The day's workshop was organised by the Coalition of Non-governmental Organisations for Tobacco Control (CNTC) to highlight the public health implication of secondhand smoking, as well as secure the commitment of participants to support the ban and help implement it, especially at their individual places.
Ghana will soon ban smoking in public places mainly to protect non-smokers and children.
Passive smoking (the inhalation of second-hand smoke) has been proven to be as destructive as smoking itself since it also causes serious illness that include heart and lung diseases as well as cancers.
Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira Director of Human Resource at the Ministry of Health at a seminar noted the ministry was aware of the challenges to be faced during the implementation of the ban.
He enumerated the heavy burden of other public health and development challenges, little political awareness about the economic cost of tobacco use and the effects of second-hand smoke exposure and the fear of economic loss by key stakeholders whose intervention can make a difference in reducing the extent of exposure.
"There are few formal networks that can adequately support country-wide implementation. It is therefore critical for us to consult groups like NGOs and CSOs to share information, create awareness and mobilize support in dealing with these challenges."
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory has stressed the need to galvanize efforts to help curb a tobacco epidemic before the situation got out of hand.
In his view, "a stitch in time saves nine" and that preventing the problem and saving the younger ones from the epidemic was the best thing any country should aim at and called for collaboration with countries such as Nigeria and Canada to help stem the tide.
Speaking at a consultative meeting on the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in Accra he noted that the epidemic was a developmental problem that should not be ignored.
Citing the case of Canada, Dr Sory said it took the North American country many years to get over the problem because they ignored it initially.
The meeting's objectives are to identify and document roadblocks to the FCTC's implementation
The Cancer Society of Ghana (CSG), in collaboration with the African Cancer Consortium (AFROX) a UK-based non-governmental organisation on Thursday launched this year's Cancer awareness month in the country with a call on government to forward the tobacco control bill initiated to Parliament for consideration.
Dr.Billy Bosu, Head of Non-Communicable Diseases Unit, at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), who made the call, said there was an urgent need for government to take that step since smoking, a major cause of cancer was on the increase.
He also asked civil society groups and health expects to lobby government to forward the bill which has been at the cabinet level for some time now.
Over 650 million people across the globe are likely to die by the year 2020 as a result of the intake of tobacco if the current smoking pattern continues. Currently, it is estimated that 10 million deaths are recorded annually.
Dr. Francis Kwamin, a lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical/Dental School, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, disclosed this in an interview with the Public Agenda in Accra on Friday at the launching of the Second Annual School Health Quiz. . . .
The lecturer noted that Article 8 of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework on Convention on Tobacco Control adopted by all WHO member states in May 2003 gives everyone the right to breathe air not contaminated with tobacco smoke.
Dr. Kwamin said the Convention indicates that all workers have the right to work in places where they are not exposed to the harmful effects of second hand tobacco smoke (SHS).
He stressed that it was therefore imperative for people in authority to increase the awareness that smoking harms not only the person who smokes but also those around him/her.
Once again the incalculable damage of tobacco intake on sections of the society, particularly the youth who are touted as the future leaders of our beloved country, has been laid bare by a medical doctor of the University of Ghana Medical/Dental School, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, as per our sub-lead story.
He revealed that a research conducted by Ghana Tobacco Control Program unearthed statistics which were not only frightening but worrying. The survey showed 4.8 per cent of the students in our Junior High Schools are currently smoking, 17.2 per cent use other tobacco products and 16.5 per cent of those who have never smoked are likely to start smoking the following year. . . .
But the medical doctor does not stop there, he offers a solution: the banning of tobacco smoking in public places. . . .
Public Agenda wishes to call on the Executive and Legislature to scale above any obstacle to the passage of the law to ensure that it comes into fruition as immediately as practicable. Any further tardy action would jeopardize the fate of our youth and inflict upon non-smokers unwanted diseases.
The Focal Person for Tobacco Control at the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has appealed to the government to hasten the approval of the bill banning the sale of cigarettes to minors.
"Currently there is no law banning the sale of cigarette to children so they are able to buy it easily. However, if there is such a law, the commodity would not be sold to them and they will have difficulty getting one to use," Mrs Edith Wellington, said in an interview. Such a law, she added, would affect the sale of cigarettes so traders would not be encouraged to sell them.
According to a survey conducted and published by the Ghana Youth Tobacco Survey among junior high school pupils in the country in 2005, 33.9 per cent of students buy cigarettes from stores.
Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), an NGO, has called on the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drugs Board to, in line with the constitution of Ghana, design and implement a comprehensive policy to ensure a total “ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship” in the country.
“The policy should consider the maximum protection of minors, women and vulnerable groups from false and misleading messages. The policy should in addition ban indirect advertising and ensure the participation of civil society in reporting its implementation and violation.”
Ghana is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which it ratified in June 2004 and deposited at the UN headquarters in November 2004.
In a press release signed by its Programme Director, Labram Musah Massawudu the NGO says tobacco companies operating in the country are violating provisions of the convention which are aimed at protecting consumers from the harmful effects of tobacco.
Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a Non-Governmental Organization which aims at enhancing education on tobacco control and health issues has called on the Ministry of Health and the Foods and Drugs Board to institute measures to ban tobacco advertisements in the country.
A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and signed by its Programmes Director, Mr. Labran M. Massawudu said the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which was ratified by Ghana in June 2004, and deposited at the United Nations Headquarters in November, 2004, became an international law on February 2005, was being violated by tobacco industries in the country. It said international tobacco companies, knowing that the international tobacco control treaty was in force continued with tobacco advertisements, promotion and sponsorship targeting the youth and poor communities.
Though films are generally watched as a form of entertainment or recreation, a film festival which was organised on the debilitating effects of cancer as part of the just ended World Cancer Congress held in Geneva to tell the cancer story sent a clear message about the menace. The first ever film festival on cancer told the stories as they were to raise awareness and public concern to the fight against the disease. "Reel Lives" featured documentaries, personal stories, educational or organisational films and public service activities not only to entertain the 2,500 delegates to the congress but also put them on their toes to intensify the campaign against the disease.
Thus, Africa and Asia are the current target of the tobacco industry.
In the pursuit of this agenda, the industry has employed various strategies and tactics including cigarette smuggling, recruiting of new and young smokers, denying the health consequences of smoking, manipulating governments to delay tobacco control legislations and the sponsoring of health professionals and academic institutions to act in their favour. . . .
Therefore a ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products is a powerful tool in tobacco control.
Aware of this, the tobacco industry is fiercely confronting directly and indirectly tobacco legislations, a measure which is one sure way of controlling the epidemic in the world, irrespective of the well established health and economic benefits of such restrictions and the support of civil society for such actions.
Indeed, many nations (including most developing countries) have embraced the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world’s first public health treaty, but there are more challenges in implementing the policies that will counteract the activities of the tobacco industry. . . .
In Ghana, tobacco consumption is relatively low. Besides, there have been some commendable efforts of tobacco control in Ghana in recent years.
Not until the beginning of the new millennium, there were a lot of huge billboards advertising one brand of tobacco product or another.
There were other tobacco promotional activities such as sponsoring of sporting activities, musical shows and beauty pageants.
The peak of these was the painting of the front views of the then two largest markets in Ghana, Kaneshie and Kejetia markets in Accra and Kumasi respectively, by the British American Tobacco company (BAT). . . .
The tobacco industry is seeing a bright market in the developing world, especially Africa.
It has not given up yet. Increase in tobacco taxation; ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and a counter public education on the health consequences of tobacco use; checking tobacco smuggling and surveillance are some of the measures that can nullify the strategies and tactics of the tobacco industry and consequently help control the tobacco epidemic, particularly in developing countries and in the world at large.
The Director of Public Health of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Joseph Amankwa, has called for the early passage of legislation on tobacco to help combat the menace of the drug. He said the effects of tobacco had gone beyond a health issue to become a major developmental problem that needed to be addressed Dr. Amankwa made the call at a workshop on the implementation of the Framework Convention on tobacco Control, which was organized by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) in Accra.
A group of campaigners from the world anti-smoking coalition has arrived in the country to partner the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the media to push the tobacco free agenda forward.
The objective of the group is to advocate the passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill in Ghana to give meaning to the ratification of the tobacco control treaty introduced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2003.