The theme was chosen out of the realisation that controlling the epidemic of tobacco among women is an important part of any comprehensive tobacco control strategy. Thus the day drew particular attention to the need to protect women and girls from the harmful effects of tobacco marketing and smoke. Tobacco, in this case, means both chewable and inhaled snuff and cigarettes or cigars. The harmful effects of tobacco are well-documented and in our day most people are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco.
Yet it is surprising that there are those who, in spite of their knowledge, still choose to smoke even when their smoking endangers other people. Let us take the case of pregnant mothers, for example. While many among those who smoke while they are pregnant know and understand the effects of tobacco on the unborn child, they still do it anyway. On the day that the No Tobacco Day was commemorated, the world woke up to a picture of an 18-month baby who smokes a packet of cigarettes a day! That child became addicted from the smoke that the mother inhaled while pregnant. This case has obviously been given prominence in the media. There are many other similar cases. Many of these children have been born with many defects that they would not have had had their mothers not smoked while carrying them. They have been condemned to a life of misery as a result of the defects that resulted from their parents' smoking while carrying them. Some of these defects affect the cleft and lip palate. The clubfoot limb defects may include either missing or extra fingers or toes, or deficiencies in the length of the limb. Congenital heart defects may include holes in the heart" Down Syndrome or Gastroschisis which is described as an opening in the muscles of the abdomen that allows the intestines to appear outside the body and an imperforate anus where there is no opening from the intestines to the outside of the body. The stories of the little boys and girls subjected to this life are without doubt heart-rending. And most of the mothers who gave birth to them were aware of what smoking would do to their babies. In fact, in our day, all people who smoke understand the danger that they pose to others. We hear stories of business owners and managers, colleagues who smoke in the presence of others. We even see parents who smoke in their vehicles and living rooms in the presence of their underaged children. In most cases colleagues and workers of the smoker have no choice because they would rather not lose their jobs. And so it is the case with children. We call for better laws, greater monitoring and stiffer penalties for perpetrators of these ghastly smoking acts. Government would do well also to have in place an anonymous system whereby complainants can lodge their cases without fearing for their jobs or their futures. Such a system would have to be adequately publicised.
