However, The Gambia is one that has undertaken significant gains in the health promotion and protection especially on tobacco control legislation. This is not only a good reference point not just in Africa, but something that other countries could draw benchmark upon benchmark when developing their own tobacco laws.
Another move is the embargo placed on tobacco advertisements in the country. Globally, tobacco use is on the rise and new smokers account for a significant number.
In our Thursday’s edition, we ran a story in which the Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization convened a three-day capacity building for legal practitioners and police prosecutors across the country.
The move seeks to enhance understanding on tobacco control policies, laws and regulation in the country, regional and global levels, as well as to build capacity for tobacco control law enforcement, particularly in relation to emerging products.
According to global statistics, annually, eight million people die from diseases caused by tobacco use globally, including about 890,000 from secondhand smoke exposure. These figures are not only alarming, but goes to show how urgent countries need to work to put in place stringent measures to address the issue.
Statistics also revealed that around 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest. We all know tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco. It is such an addictive substance that when circulated in your system, it is always difficult to quit it.
For instance, cigarette is said to have a composition of 7,000 chemicals, 70 of which are known includes; carcinogens/harmful substances (tar, cadmium, lead, cyanide, nitrogen oxides, benzo(a) pyrine, carbon monoxide, vinyl chloride, acetaldehyde.
Its consequences are not only alarming but leaves much to be desired.
Importantly, tobacco use has a devastating impact on our environment as in the global context, nearly 3.5 million hectares of land are converted for tobacco growing annually. This contributes greatly to deforestation as it claims 200,000 hectares each year.
In The Gambia, more than 3 million cigarette butts are thrown in the streets which eventually find their way into the water bodies, polluting aquatic life, according to officials.
It is therefore a moral obligation on parents, guardians and adults to intensify advocacy against tobacco use especially in public, as it is detrimental to one’s health and those around you.