"Stop Cigarette Importation"

It is evident that smoking is a very dangerous habit, but not withstanding millions of people around the world continues to smoke on a daily basis.

The practice is very much common among young people, but a good number of old people also smoke.

According to latest WHO report, "more than five million people unnecessarily die each year owing to the use of tobacco".

It is against this background that our reporter conducted a vox pop on the issue in and around Kanifing Municipality.

Most of those interviewed by this reporter, have called on the authorities to ban the importation of cigarettes.

 Karamo Sanneh, a 45-year-old man and a resident of Kanifing told our reporter that he has been smoking for almost two decades, but has now realised that smoking is a health hazard.

He said it would not do any good to stop smoking while businessmen are seen loading containers of tobacco into the country.

He urged the health officials to look into the situation before people like him die prematurely. As he put it, smoking does not have any good effect.

According to him, both the smoker and people around them do all have their share of the dangers associated with it.

"In fact secondhand smoking is more dangerous than the smokers themselves," he stated.

Another youngman believed to be in his mid twenties also told this reporter that there is a need to prohibit the practice.

He implored on the parliamentarians to also look into a law that will prohibit importation of any form of tobacco so as to stop people from smoking.

For him, he started smoking because of peer pressure, stressing that the practice should be condemned.

A lady, who wished to remain unanimous, said she has been smoking for almost 8 years. She said the fact that she got addicted to it she finds it difficult to do away with it.

She implored on her fellow victims to stop smoking as, according to her, it's very dangerous to women's womb.

Many smokers who spoke to the Point Newspaper also expressed similar sentiments.