Tobacco.org

Smokers Appeal to Cigarette Manufacturers to Stop 

As they narrate their ordeal tobacco or cigarette smokers are appealing to tobacco manufacturers to stop manufacturing cigarettes.

According to them, having realized the harmful effect of cigarette on their health, they want to quit smoking but once it is always available it would be difficult for them to do so.

This was disclosed in a recent interview conducted by this reporter.

One Salieu Bah, who is 23 years, said he has been smoking for six years now and wanted to stop a long time ago but find it difficult to do so.

"I really want to stop smoking but I cannot. I have tried several times but just can't sit for a day without smoking," he said.

Bah pointed out that all his friends are smokers and they as well want to quit but they just cannot.

"The best thing is for cigarette manufacturers to stop manufacturing cigarettes," he added.

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EDITORIAL: Enforcing smoking Act is Long Overdue 

The move by the ministry of Health and Social Welfare to enforce the banning of public smoking is long overdue and indeed must welcome.

A statement issued by the Ministry yesterday said all heads of institutions, organizations, workplaces and other public places are hereby urged to implement this Act as in such establishments, smoking will be allowed only in clearly labeled designated smoking areas. . . .

The general public must also help the police and the Ministry by reporting people who may defiantly continue to smoke in public despite the commencement of the enforcement.

Our commendations also go to the Minister of Health and Social Welfare and her team for the move. We are in support! . . .

Meanwhile, in order to enforce the Act to the fullest, those in leadership positions must lead by example and must endeavor to equally obey the Act to deter others from smoking in public.

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• Health Dept. Vows To Enforce Ban on Smoking in Public 

The Department of State for Health and Social Welfare has expressed its willingness and determination to enforce the ban on smoking in all public places with immediate effect as stipulated under the Prohibition of Smoking (public places) Act of 1998. The declaration of its intent is contained in a press release issued by the Department yesterday. This Act, was enacted on the 23 September 1998, thereby making public smoking unlawful and punishable

The Act defines public places to include all government premises, all work places, hospitals or health facilities, private premises, Vehicles and shops to which the public have access. The release has urged all heads of institutions, organizations, workplaces and other public places to implement this Act. In such establishments, smoking will be allowed only in clearly labeled designated smoking areas.

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• Health Ministry Poised to Enforce Smoking Act  

Following a nationwide regional consultations on the Prohibition of Smoking Act (public places) Act of 1998, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, as a ministry assigned to implement this Act, has with immediate effect banned smoking in all public places as stipulated under the Act.

A statement issued by the Ministry yesterday said all heads of institutions, organizations, workplaces and other public places are hereby urged to implement this Act as in such establishments, smoking will be allowed only in clearly labelled designated smoking areas.

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EDITORIAL: Tobacco and health 

It is a self-evident truth that smoking curtails our right to life as human beings. Interestingly tobacco firms are conscious of this reality, yet they continue to support innovations in this regard, supplying the world with new brands of tobacco.

But clearly, those who consume these potentially deadly products are also aware of the fact that they are compromising theirs as well as the health of those around them. The baffling phenomenon about the whole thing, however, is that despite warning of serious implications in tobacco consumption, the numbers of potential victims continue to rise. This is purely a matter of naivety, and it is exactly what the industry is taking advantage of.

The focus, therefore, should now be on how to counter this increasingly indifferent industry. But the first question that comes to mind is where is the utility of a good that sends human beings to the grave? . . . Those who smoke have the option to choose between life and death; and whoever chooses death by insisting on the consumption of tobacco products must not invite others to accompany them to the grave. That is to say they must not smoke in the open, where second hand smoking can be attracted. Our advice to all smokers is: please quit; and for non-smokers, never try it.

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Chiefs, Others Sensitised On Smoking in Public Prohibition Act  

The Health Education Unit in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and RAID-The Gambia last Thursday held a day sensatisation for some members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the traditional rulers (chiefs) on the prohibition of smoking in public place Act 1998 at the governor's Bantaba in Janjangbureh, Central River Region.

In his opening remarks at the sensitisation, Lamin Darboe, the deputy governor of the region underscored the importance of the sensisation. He noted that such educative forums will go a long way in increasing public awareness on the prohibition of smoking in public place Act 1998 passed by the National Asembly as well as the health hazards associated with smoking.

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The network on tobacco control  

At the end of a three-day strategic planning workshop, the CSO – NGO network on tobacco control in The Gambia, a newly constituted front against the scourge of tobacco, held a press conference, last Friday, at the premises of the President International Award Scheme.

The members sought to share with the media the result of their three-day deliberation, coming up with a series of recommendations and strategies they intend to employ in the execution of their mission.

Speaking at the occasion, the secretary general of the network, who is also the speaker of the National Youth Parliament - one of the key partners in the alliance - Honorable Lamin F Bojang, said that tobacco was popular, and that the industry was powerful and organized. Honorable Bojang argued that the effect of its consumption ‘on the life of our people is� beyond measure.’ To this end, he said, only a concerted effort is needed to address the problem.

He disclosed that the composition of their network presents a united force of institutions that were willing and had in the past committed themselves to the fight against tobacco.

The network has secured funding from the Framework Convention Alliance on Tobacco Control

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Observer's Acting Editor-in-Chief Off to South Africa  

Kemo Cham, the acting editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer, the biggest newspaper in The Gambia, yesterday left Banjul for Johannesburg in South Africa.

He is expected to attend a week-long conference which will be attended by participants from the 160 countries that are party to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The event will start from the 17th to the 22nd of November 2008 in Durban. It will will also accord the Daily Observer's acting editor-in-chief the opportunity to also participate in a day's training workshop on reporting tobacco control in Africa. He will be one of 15 African journalists to undergo the training.

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Anti-Tobacco Alliance, “Waste of time, a recipe for avoidable suffering” 

In a communiqué issued at the end of African Regional Strategy meeting on Tobacco Control, under the aegis of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), the Abuja delegates described as “alarming” the spread of the tobacco epidemic in Africa. . . .

The Abuja conference observed that there was a switch of the marketing strategies of the tobacco industry; from the more informed regions of the world to the African continent. To this effect, it called on all African governments that are yet to ratify the FCTC to do so immediately, urging a speedy action for domestication of the treaty for those who have already ratified it. “Any waste of time is recipe for avoidable suffering and tobacco-related deaths,” they stressed.

In a display of renewed effort, the group also endorsed African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) as an umbrella body to harmonise the tobacco control efforts of non-governmental organisations in Africa.

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Inaction against tobacco “Waste of time - a recipe for avoidable suffering” 

Advocates from 22 countries around Africa, recently, concluded an anti-Tobacco conference, held in the Nigerian Capital of Abuja. The 3-day conference, according to the Gambian delegate, Mr Sambujang Conteh, representative of the NGO-CSO Network on Tobacco Alliance, made a passionate call on African delegates due to embark on a World Health Organization conference for the parties to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, slated for November later this year, in Durban, South Africa.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the African Regional Strategy meeting on Tobacco Control, under the aegis of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), the Abuja delegates described as alarming the spread of the tobacco epidemic in Africa. They urged tough measures on tobacco, calling on member countries to adopt the strongest possible guidelines based on the dictates of Articles 5.3, 11, and 13 of the FCTC. The effect of tobacco, the communiqué observed, ‘is devastating on health, economy and environment of our continent.’ . . .

In a display of renewed effort, the group also endorsed African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) as an umbrella body to harmonize tobacco control efforts of non-governmental organizations in Africa.

The NGO-CSO network on Tobacco Control, The Gambia, is a composition of five formidable groups of 2 NGOs and 3 civil society organizations. The African Network for Information and Action Against Drugs (RAID – The Gambia) is one of the NGOs, and its director, Mr Sambujang Conteh, the chairperson of the Alliance, represented the country at the Abuja conference. Mr Conteh called for a “concerted effort” in the crusade of stemming the ills of tobacco consumption.

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BAJO: Tobacco-Free Youth 

To protect the world's youth from experimenting with tobacco and becoming regular users, this year's World No Tobacco Day campaign calls for a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. . . .

In view of this development, Health and Nutrition Bantaba joins the campaign on the crusade against tobacco use by highlighting its potential risk to the health of the people. It is indeed a common knowledge that cigarette smoking causes serious health implications and it is even considered to be a most risky habit. This is because it is liable to turn one's life around. . . .

It can be difficult to give up alone, so why not ask friends and family for help, or join a support group?

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RAID - Country Holds National Consultative Forum On FCTC 

"Tobacco has been a subject of intensive debate on the international health agenda for quite too long" says Dr. Nestor Shivute, the World Health Organisation Representative to the Gambia.

Dr. Shivute made this remark at a one-day national consultative workshop on the WHO framework convention on tobacco control organised by the African Network for Information and Action against Drugs (RAID).

Dr. Shivute commended the government of the Gambia for ratifying the WHO framework convention on Tobacco, without which it would not have been possible to hold this very important meeting.

He said it had not only been a long way but a difficult journey in establishing these facts associated with negative social, economic and political implications due to tobacco use.

He stated that it is in response to this complex dilemma surrounding tobacco use that the World Health Organisation has since 1998 been working very closely with its 192 member states, international institutions and organizations around the world to develop an all inclusive framework convention for tobacco control.

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EDITORIAL: Freeing The Gambia from tobacco  

New thinking is the hallmark of our age. And the threats of tobacco smoking and the burden it superimposes on our health requires a string of reforms to revert the trend.

According to statistics from the African Network for Information and Action Against Drugs and Substance Abuse (RAID) The Gambia, 25,000 Gambians have died of tobacco, with young people constituting the highest percentage. The WHO statistics indicate that at least 5 million people die of tobacco and its related substances each year.

The use of tobacco is the leading preventable killer in most countries, including The Gambia. And deaths from tobacco related cancers: lungs, throat, or bladder cancer is 10 to 15% higher. Unfortunately, even with the best treatment available today, nine out of ten lung cancers are fatal. . . .

Now that a national consultation on this 193-member state evidence-based convention is ongoing, we owe it to ourselves and our children to dispose our energies and wisdom for the successful implementation of the treaty.

The convention present a holistic approach to eradicate tobacco in society, thereby filling the gaps in the Public Smoking Act. We must continue to act with diligence and consistency.

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World No Tobacco Day observed  

The International Community, including The Gambia yesterday observed world no tobacco day. The theme for this year's celebration is smoke free inside. Delivering his statement at the ceremony Dr Mbowe, Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare has duelled on the right to clean air, emphasising that free from tobacco smoke is a fundamental human right. Non smokers, he added, have a right not to be exposed to other peoples smoke. According to him, the day is commemorated in The Gambia, alongside other member states of the world health organisation, to address the harmful effects of the use of tobacco, in all its forms, be it smoking, chewing, sniffing. The theme focus on 100% smoke free environment' which he said is widely regarded as the only effective measure to protect public health.

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Gov't ready to combat tobacco smoking  

A tripartite condemnation by the executive, legislative and the security forces prohibiting the importation, distribution and sale of tobacco that is claimed to have been the cause of the death of millions of people hits up at the World No Tobacco Day celebration at the National Assembly yesterday.

Hon Churchill Baldeh, the majority leader of the National Assembly, who deputised for the Speaker of the National Assembly, as the guest speaker, said to combat the use of tobacco needs the participation of all and sundry. "We should all campaign against tobacco as it is eating into our youth fabrics, the cream of our nation. The police and other security agents should help to achieve our aim in combating smoking tobacco. MRC has done it. None of their staff smokes in their premises. We can also stop smoking in our offices and work places," he said.

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