VALD says that the failure to address the issue is likely to increase drug addicts.

Its Programmes Director,  Labram Musah made the call on the back of recent appeals to regulate the use of painkiller, Tramadol over concerns of its abuse by the youth.

He said the sale of single sticks of cigarettes had become problematic since it was cheaper than a full pack of cigarettes and, consequently, made tobacco more affordable to the youth and other individuals with limited resources.

He noted that due to the exposure of children to cigarettes on sale at stands where they purchase biscuits and sweets, the children are quickly lured to start using a harmful product.

Speaking at a news conference, he noted that children in areas such as Nima, Maamobi, Kokomlemle and some parts of Osu community in Accra where VALD conducted a survey were at risk of smoking at a very tender age.

The Programmes Director said: “One of the measures to aid the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is the tax on tobacco products; it will serve as the revenue stream for government and also discourage smoking and initiation.”

Mr Musah urged the MoH and FDA and all relevant authorities to monitor the British America Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI) to prevent them from their activities of supplying free promotional materials to tobacco retailers to create recognition of their brands and to encourage the sale of their products.

He said the authorities should enforce the ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship and this should include any advertising or promotional materials related to single sticks.

Musah said the enforcement of the ban would be in line with Article 13 and 16 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the national tobacco control laws and regulations.

“The authorities must also ensure that cigarettes are not sold close to educational institutions, hospitals, children playing grounds and places where children are cared for while ensuring that the aspects of the tobacco control laws and regulations protecting children are strictly adhered to.”

He said the newest trend had been the introduction of shisha/waterpipe tobacco and that the youth accepted, which was far dangerous than the traditional cigarette and contributed to diseases such as, Tuberculosis and hepatitis, among others.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana with files from GNA

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Despite decades of tobacco control policies, population growth has seen an increased number of smokers, it warned.

Researchers said mortality could rise further as tobacco companies aggressively targeted new markets, especially in the developing world.

The report was published in the medical journal The Lancet.

“Despite more than half a century of unequivocal evidence of the harmful effects of tobacco on health, today, one in every four men in the world is a daily smoker,” said senior author Dr Emmanuela Gakidou.

“Smoking remains the second largest risk factor for early death and disability, and so to further reduce its impact we must intensify tobacco control to further reduce smoking prevalence and attributable burden.”

The Global Burden of Diseases report was based on smoking habits in 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2015.

It found that nearly one billion people smoked daily in 2015 – one in four men and one in 20 women.

Higher taxes

That was a reduction from one in three men and one in 12 women who lit up in 1990.

However, population growth meant there was an increase in the overall number of smokers, up from 870 million in 1990.

And the number of tobacco-related deaths – more than 6.4 million in 2015 – increased by 4.7% over the same period.

The study found some countries had succeeded in efforts to help people quit, mostly through a combination of higher taxes, warnings on packages and education programmes.

Over the 25-year period, Brazil had seen the percentage of daily smokers drop from 29% to 12% among men and from 19% to 8% among women.

But, the report said, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines saw no change from 1990 to 2015.

Russia saw smoking among women rise by 4% over the same period and similar trends were emerging in parts of Africa, the authors warned.

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Source: BBC

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