http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/africa.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.expatica.com/ch/news/swiss-news/swiss-see-hike-in-africa-tobacco-smuggling_206933.html http://tobacco.org/news/333478.html Swizerland has seen a large-scale hike in cigarette-smuggling from Africa where prices are 10 times cheaper, a senior customs official said Wednesday. A number of passengers arriving from Senegal have been found to be carrying 100 to 300 cartons of cigarettes in their luggage, Geneva regional customs director Jerome Coquoz told reporters. "A carton is sold in Senegal for the equivalent of 7.5 Swiss francs (6.2 euros or 8.1 dollars) while it is worth 76 Swiss francs in Switzerland," he said. Agence France Presse Switzerland Africa Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.anthempress.com/index.php/tobacco-control-in-africa.html http://tobacco.org/news/332483.html ‘Tobacco use in Sub-Saharan Africa is growing rapidly as a result of strong economic growth and the aggressive marketing tactics of tobacco multinationals. Although the policy interventions are well understood, the political economy of tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa is not, and this volume is a timely addition to the literature, offering the most comprehensive review of the political economy of tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa yet. The attention to detail in the 12 country case studies – representing diverse linguistic, geographic, political, legal and developmental environments – sets new standards for tobacco control research on the continent.’ —Dr Evan Blecher, International Tobacco Control Research Program, American Cancer Society This volume presents the work initiated and executed under the African Tobacco Situational Analyses (ATSA), a recent major public health initiative sponsored by the Canadian government’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Conceived to illuminate the factors that will facilitate the reform of Africa’s major public health policies, this program focused particularly (but not exclusively) on policies concerning tobacco. The results, presented in this book, are an important contribution to the literature on global public health and international development, and comprise the most comprehensive evidence-based analysis of tobacco policy in the African region. The country-level analyses of this study examine topics such as smoking prevalence, the status of relevant smoking-related policies, and the politics of public health policy reform – as well as the role played by the tobacco industry in each of these key areas. Anthem Press info@wpcpress.com ( Edited by Jeffrey Drope) Africa Sat, 01 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16734:anti-smoking-groups-work-on-new-strict-law&catid=34:news&Itemid=114 http://tobacco.org/news/332239.html The anti-tobacco activist Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA), in conjunction with the Makerere University’s School of Public Health, is planning to push for stern legislation to regulate the growing consumption of tobacco. The Observer Africa Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.independent.co.ug/column/comment/5068-tobacco-to-kill-one-billion-people http://tobacco.org/news/331477.html The Tobacco diseases epidemic is already with us in Africa’’ says Prof Peter Odhiambo, Chairman of Kenya Tobacco Control Board. ‘’Soon you will hear people announcing that the epidemic is coming to Africa. It is already here. I treat the victims of tobacco every day.’’ He was speaking in Kampala on Nov. 1 at a public lecture entitled ‘The journey from the Farm to the Lungs: Who gains from Tobacco in Africa?’ at the inauguration of the new regional Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA) to be hosted by Uganda. . . . In a study conducted at Mulago, Uganda’s national referral hospital, 75% of patients with oral cancer had a history of smoking, with the number of years of smoking ranging from 2-33 years, according to a 2008 study report by Fredrick Musoke of Makerere University Kampala. Almost a quarter of Ugandan males (22%) aged between 15 and 49% are smokers while 4% of females are smokers, according to the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. Exposure to second hand smoke increases the risk of heart disease by 25-30% and the lung cancer risk by 20-30%. . . . In August, British American Tobacco (BAT) Uganda, announced that cigarette sales had gone up by 29% in Uganda compared to a similar period in 2010. BAT argues that tobacco is a leading tax revenue payer and that the livelihoods of 600,000 tobacco farmers, particularly in Arua District in the West Nile region, where BAT runs an out-growers programme, depend on it. BAT also argues that it is an important export for the country. . . . According to Rachel Kitonyo, a Kenyan working with the Africa Tobacco Control Consortium based in Lome in Togo, Uganda is out of step with other East African countries Tanzania and Kenya which passed a tobacco control law in 2007. Uganda is yet to pass a tobacco control law although a Bill has been in the works for the past few years with a draft announced in 2010. The Ugandan parliament is now set to discuss the Bill. The resurrection of the Bill was disclosed on November 1, 2011 The Independent Uganda Africa Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006R9ZFUI http://tobacco.org/news/331265.html This second edition emphasizes the need for transparency and the 5 years spent advocating for better practices in the management of the grants awarded by the Bloomberg and Gates Foundation to promote tobacco control in Africa. Unfortunately those efforts have failed and the dates chosen also express the end of the author's attempt to convince two big foundations and their partners/grantees to embrace public transparency and accountability. amazon.com Africa Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16222:if-you-fear-aids-fear-tobacco-even-more-&catid=37:guest-writers&Itemid=66 http://tobacco.org/news/330104.html “The tobacco diseases epidemic is already with us in Africa,” says Prof Peter Odhiambo, chairman of the Kenya Tobacco Control Board. “I treat the victims of tobacco everyday.” Prof Odhiambo was speaking at Kampala Serena hotel on November 1, 2011, at a public lecture titled, ‘The Journey from the Farm to the Lungs: Who gains from Tobacco in Africa?’ Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world today. Tobacco use claims more lives globally than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unless urgent action is taken, tobacco could kill one billion people during this century. WHO data also shows that in comparison to HIV/AIDS which claimed three million lives globally last year, tobacco deaths were nearly six million cases. It is estimated that by 2030 tobacco-related illnesses will be the leading cause of death in the world and 70-80% of these deaths will occur in low-income countries. . . . However, the threat posed by second-hand smoking is said to affect almost a half of all youths in Uganda and is a much more mainstream public health threat in Uganda. Exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of heart disease by 25-30% and the lung cancer risk by 20-30%. Smoking has been banned in public places, including in bars and restaurants, in Uganda since 2004, although enforcement is still a challenge. The Ugandan tobacco industry argues that tobacco is economically important to Uganda given that the industry is a leading taxpayer. “It is not the tobacco companies which pay tobacco taxes; it is the smokers,’’ counters Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, who argues that taxes on tobacco are simply passed on to consumers and that the healthcare costs of treating tobacco-related diseases far outweigh the economic benefits of the tobacco industry. According to Rachel Kitonyo of The Africa Tobacco Control Consortium, Uganda is out of step with other East African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya which passed a tobacco control law in 2007. The Observer Uganda Africa Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=632102 http://tobacco.org/news/330005.html Almost everyone who smokes has uttered these words if not a few times, then at least once - "I would like to stop but I just can't, it is just so difficult and I have tried so many times but I just can't." Others in denial have even gone as far as saying "Well, I am not addicted, I can stop any time I want," reports Namibian Press Agency (Nampa). The fact is that they are lying to themselves. . . . So even if you can't give up for yourself, hard as it may be, how about doing it for those around you, especially your children. Malaysian National News Agency ramjit@bernama.com ([author unidentified]) Namibia Africa Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1266072/-/bhe25fz/-/index.html http://tobacco.org/news/328296.html Youngsters who smoke might soon suffer from cancers, heart attack and other diseases because tobacco is a major cause of ill-health, the Ministry of Health has warned. A report from the Ministry shows that there is an increase in smoking among the youth and that nicotine in tobacco shortens the users’ lifespan by 14 years. Health Minister Christine Ondoa said there is need to protect the youth through a joint action to control tobacco use nationwide. “No country can afford the luxury of sending mixed signals to the population on a matter that affects a huge portion of the population like that of tobacco,” she said at the launch of the Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA) in Wakiso District on Tuesday. The facility based at Kasangati Health Centre will serve five countries in the Great Lakes region and is aimed at campaigning for reduction of tobacco use by supporting governments in implementing tobacco control strategies in Africa. “Africa is at an early stage of the tobacco epidemic with the prevalence of tobacco smoking among the youth ranging from 8 to 43 per cent for boys and 5 to 30 per cent for girls,” a study by CTCA indicates. Monitor online@ug.nationmedia.com (Betty Ndagire) Uganda Africa Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/africa/ http://tobacco.org/news/325852.html September 04, 2011 CTFK awards a $300K grant to the Association pour la Défense des Droits des Consommateurs (ADC) to promote tobacco control in 5 French speaking countries . . . September 02, 2011 African Tobacco Control Advocates on Facebook Now on Facebook, 2 new pages: African Tobacco Control and African Journalists Against Tobacco The Gates Foundation gives $18 million to the Bloomberg Family Foundation with a special emphasis on tobacco control in Africa Visiting the site of the Gates Foundation for tobacco control projects (scroll on the right to recent grants), I found this information, without any additional detail (for now). Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA Africa Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://tobacco.org/news/325798.html Human rights activists, health practitioners and journalists have expressed dismay and horror over African governments’ stand to promote and campaign for tobacco growing and smoking saying such acts aimed at killing people especially the youth who are targeted by tobacco dealers. Speaking at a two-day tobacco control journalists’ workshop organised by Health-e News Service and The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in Johannesburg, South Africa recently, they said deliberate campaigns propagated by African governments and tobacco companies under the pretext of increasing the economy without assessing its devastating effects associated with tobacco left a lot to be desired. Presenting a paper on “What is the tobacco industry doing in Africa”, executive director for Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum, Lutgard Kokulinda Kagaruki, said some statements made by government officials at different forums and podiums supporting tobacco farming and use on grounds that it was a major foreign exchange earner was not fair and aimed at environmental destruction and harming people especially the youth who were the main target group of the tobacco industry. IPP Media Africa Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ghananewsagency.org/details/Science/Ghana-must-speed-up-legislation-on-tobacco-Patricia-Lambert/%3Fci%3D8%26ai%3D32367&sa=X&ei=sYtHTqCdOcPRiALc5KTbAQ&ved=0CGQQpwIwCQ&usg=AFQjCNHXOO2QPGKoK7qAcOtkBIaHxUEx5g http://tobacco.org/news/324864.html Ms Patricia Lambert, Director of International Legal Consortium for Campaign for Tobacco - Free Kids, has urged the Government of Ghana to consider the health of her people and speed up the tobacco control legislation. "Government has the sovereign right and duty to protect the life of all citizens" she stated. Ms Lambert was speaking at an international media capacity building workshop in Johannesburg on Saturday, to sharpen the media's efforts to respond to the growing threats of tobacco use in Africa. The workshop is expected to equip the media to generate awareness of the increasing health burden in the various countries in Africa due to the damaging effects of tobacco products consumption. The workshop was organized by Health-e, a media organization in South Africa, in collaboration with Campaign for Tobacco - Free Kids, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO). Journalist will also be given the modus operandi of the tobacco industry as it increasingly focuses on Africa as a lucrative market, as well as the myths peddled around tobacco farming. Ghana News Agency South Africa Africa Ghana Sun, 14 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tobacco-middle-east-and-africa-regional-overview-127509523.html http://tobacco.org/news/324859.html The Middle East and Africa region stands out as a growing market, though with a few caveats. There is a strengthening move towards more stringent application of anti-tobacco legislation and a shift towards harsher taxation in key markets, notably Egypt. The strong presence of domestic operators provides a combination of opportunities and threats for multinationals; a situation which reflects the market overall. Euromonitor International's Tobacco: Middle East and Africa Regional Overview global briefing offers an insight into to the size and shape of the Tobacco market, highlighting major industry trends and categories as well as the factors affecting operating environment. It identifies the leading companies and brands, offers impartial, strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, legislative restrictions or pricing influences. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change and where it is headed. PR Newswire nbo@reportlinker.com ( SOURCE Reportlinker ) Africa Mid-east Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/notw/_news/1302912/Fake-cigarettes-made-of-human-faceses-are-on-sale-in-UK-markets.html http://tobacco.org/news/321291.html THE deadly trail of poison begins in the bloodshot eyes of Aids-ravaged African children as they teem across a mountain of lethal waste tobacco in a swirling cloud of nicotine. And it ends in the lungs of millions of hard-up British smokers clamouring for cheap imported cigarettes to beat legal packet price rises. Today a chilling News of the World investigation reveals how Britain's counterfeit cigarettes black market is burning dangerously out of control. The cheap illegal packets on offer at places like markets, pubs, corner shops, car boot sales and on internet sites look genuine enough-even carrying the health warning. But their contents are what one tobacco expert calls a "health timebomb". And the chemicals inside make them THIRTY TIMES more dangerous than legal fags-with hair, insect eggs, dead flies, wood, rat poison, battery acid, and even human faeces swept into the machines that make them. The packets of death are the product of a worldwide multi-billion pound counterfeit cigarette trade with tentacles stretching back through smugglers in countries like Spain and Belgium, via Hong Kong to squalid underground packaging sweatshops in China. . . . And so the trail takes us to Fujian, near the town of Yunxiao, where 100 BILLION counterfeit cigarettes are made each year. . . . "Here we call cigarettes rolled gold," laughs Jun Wei, the boss of one of them as he sits guarding a heavy iron drain. Beneath it are steps leading to a lead-lined factory to contain the smell of the tobacco. His team of cigarette makers toil at machines amid the smell of sweat, diesel, human faeces and toxic chemicals. . . . Here they end up being distributed for sale-many stashed at "Tab Houses"-council estate homes supplying hard-up smokers across Britain. The worst blackspots are Middlesborough, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow and Plymouth. Last year Customs officers at Tilbury Docks, Essex, seized hundreds of thousands of counterfeit cigarettes stashed in ship containers and even boilers. . . . The problem is now so bad globally that smuggling experts, customs officials, and diplomats from about 160 countries recently gathered in Geneva to push for a world crackdown on the international tobacco black market. The meeting revealed organised crime syndicates like the Chinese triads, Russian Mafia and even terrorist groups like the Taliban rely on cigarette smuggling to help finance their activities. But that seems to matter little to many British smokers fed up with paying an average price of £6.29 for a legal packet of 20 . . . We found counterfeit Chinese fags easy to buy in Manchester and London. News of the World UK Africa Sun, 22 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/hpr/health-risk-factors/tobacco/world-no-tobacco-day.html http://tobacco.org/news/319822.html The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the world's foremost tobacco control instrument. As the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO, it represents a big achievement in the advancement of public health. In force since 2005, it is one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in the history of the United Nations, with more than 170 Parties of which 41 are from the African region. An evidence-based treaty, it reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and provides new legal dimensions for cooperation in tobacco control. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death. This year, more than 5 million people will die from a tobacco-related heart attack, stroke, cancer, lung ailment or other diseases. That does not include the more than 600,000 people – more than a quarter of them children – who will die from exposure to second-hand smoke. The annual death toll from the global epidemic of tobacco use could rise to 8 million by 2030. Having killed 100 million people during the 20th century, tobacco use could kill 1 billion during the 21st century. World Health Organization Africa Thu, 12 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.afro.who.int/en/media-centre/pressreleases/2839-african-health-ministers-adopt-brazzaville-declaration-on-noncommuniacble-diseases.html http://tobacco.org/news/319006.html The first Africa Regional Ministerial Consultation on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) ended in the Congolese capital on Wednesday (6 April) with the adoption of the Brazzaville Declaration on NCDs. The Declaration urged urgent action by various stakeholders to address major NCDs and priority conditions which represent “a significant challenge” to people in the African region: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, diseases of blood disorder (in particular sickle cell disease), mental health, violence and injuries. Highlights of the Declaration include commitment by the Ministers to: . . . develop and implement NCD prevention and control strategies, guidelines, policies, legislations and regulatory frameworks including the WHO FCTC to protect individuals, families and communities from unhealthy diets, harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke and unsafe food; and from violence and injuries, advertising of unhealthy products; World Health Organization Africa Congo Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT