Jump to full article: All-Africa.com, 2009-09-02
Author: Cindy Shiner
Intro: Tobacco use in Africa is growing faster than in other continents, says Dr. John Seffrin, who has been on the frontlines in the war against cancer for several years and now serves as the chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. Taking part in the recent LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland, he hailed the global unity shown in reducing the stigma of cancer and working harder at prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. He spoke with allAfrica.com.
How did the cancer summit come about?
Lance Armstrong [the American professional road racing cyclist who has survived cancer] and the Lance Armstrong Foundation decided that it was important to have not just another meeting on cancer, but a special summit that would bring together people from all over the world and a diverse group of people that would include scientists, public health professionals, survivors and advocates. The foundation raised money and worked with other organizations like the American Cancer Society to put this summit on. It was a smashing success and we hope it will be a launch pad for people to work better together to solve the cancer problem. . . .
How does Africa fit in when it comes to global tobacco use?
Africa has relatively low tobacco use prevalence rates. But it has the fastest increasing prevalence rates. They're low compared to China, where 60 percent of the men smoke, but they're going up faster than anywhere in the world. We at the American Cancer Society are committed to doing tobacco control in Africa because here's a chance to prevent an epidemic of disease that otherwise will happen.
The tobacco industry is rapaciously promoting its product in all areas of the world where prevalence rates are low. So we're targeting Africa and we need to get on the ground with prevention programs before it's too late. It's a lot easier to prevent people from starting ever to smoke than it is to get them to quit because it's so addictive. Here's an opportunity to get dramatic results and that is to prevent what has become the single largest cause of preventable death in the world: addiction to tobacco.
How might you go about doing that in Africa?
The number one thing that can be done in any part of Africa is to change current public policies. If every country in Africa would implement the protocols of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control they could get dramatic results.
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