NGOs, government want to ensure free tobacco state for Gambia

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-7-13 10:49:47

Africa Network for information and action against drugs and the Gambia ministry of Health and social Welfare in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders on Thursday ended a two forum on tobacco control and use that would ensure the West African Nation a free tobacco state.

Several smoking accounts to 8 million deaths worldwide every year, noting that the world loses 2 Billion dollars annually as a result of tobacco use, Health promotion officer at World Health Organization Momodou Gassama said.

He pointed out that tobacco has been proven as the killer of many deaths; he also called on the participants to make Gambia a tobacco free state.

"The world loses 200,000.000000 million dollars every year that is about 200 billion dollar are lost as a result of tobacco consumption which is serious and these are statistic that they don't want people to know, but of course WHO is the authoritative body for the world health therefore we have to share with the international community, that we are loosing much of millions as a result of tobacco consumption."

Director Africa Network for information against drugs Sambujang Conteh said his organization is design to complement government efforts to achieve its development aspiration, highlighting significant areas of concern.

"Our main objective is to complement the effort of the government achieve their development aspiration because that is our main role ,our agency has different intervention as listed below, Drug and substance abuse prevention and education including tobacco control mainly, we are working with the drug prevention and Education and emergency reduction discouraging the practice of Female Genital Mutilation, Hiv/aids and Stigma and prevention train young people on good governance and democracy decentralization process, role of youths in National Development , and unwanted pregnancy peer health education skill training" Mr Conteh noted.

Director health promotion and education ministry of health social welfare Momodou Njie on behalf of the minister has remarked that the ministry have already finalized a comprehensive action plan for tobacco control and use.

He noted that the prohibition of public smoking manifest government effort to control tobacco use .he urged parents to serve as role models and avoid smoking in present of their children.

The Gambia Police Force in collaboration with sister security units in the country and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, on Monday organised a one-day sensitisation forum on the re- enforcement of anti-public smoking act at the Police headquarters in Banjul.

The Anti-Tobacco Campaign law was ratified since 25th July 1998 and the Public Smoking Act assented to by the president and was enforced.

The re-enforcement was effective in October 1st 2010 all cigarette packets being imported into the West African Nation are required to bear the following health warnings in the format prescribed hereafter: On the front of every new cigarette packaging, the front of the packet should bear the inscription; "SMOKING KILLS", at the back of the packet, it should bear; "SMOKING SERIOUSLY HARMS YOU AND OTHERS AROUND YOU". On the sides of the packet should be written; "SOLD IN THE GAMBIA".

A one-day validation workshop on tobacco control baseline survey and action plan for 2012-2015 was also held in Banjul in May

The event was organized by RAID-The Gambia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW), WHO country office and The Gambia Bureau of Statistics.







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