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Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Ghana 

Currently, there is no legislation on tobacco control in Ghana although the Minister of Health has presented a draft bill to cabinet. On World Tobacco Day in 1989, a policy statement was made to ban smoking in public places including cinemas, restaurants and public offices. In 1991, the Ghana Government banned smoking on the premises of any Ministry of Health premises in the country and also outlawed direct advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products on radio, television and newspapers. This ban is still respected by the mass media, but some form of tobacco advertisement occurs where a brand is used to advertise a program it is sponsoring. Points of sale and billboard advertisements are still permitted and the warning signs are barely readable.

Of all places, bars, restaurants and nightclubs have the highest air concentration of secondhand smoke, however, these places have generally been excluded from smoke-free policies.

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