Workshop Identifies Hindrances To Tobacco Control

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Monday September 20, 2010 00:00

The workshop followed a situational analysis report by Bontle Mbongwe of the University of Botswana's Department of Environmental Health.

 Vigorous marketing by the massive tobacco industry is also to blame for engaging in a brutal war against government efforts to control smoking through the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

However, Mbongwe also slammed the government for not prioritising tobacco control, hence the need for advocacy by the media and NGOs.

She said while it is normal practice for the government to provide leadership for policy development on key programmes, Botswana does not have a policy or a strategic plan to implement tobacco control activities.

A representative from the Ministry of Health, Gaesi Mophuting, said though the country has implemented several provisions of FCTC, which Botswana and 167 other countries are signatories to, there are challenges to implementing it fully.

The FCTC is an international law to facilitate measures to reduce the supply of tobacco products and demand in order to protect public health from the harm associated with the use of tobacco and tobacco products.

Though Article 6 provides that as a measure to reduce demand, parties to the convention should increase prices and taxes of tobacco products, Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) is constrained by certain domestic laws and rules.

In any event, Mophuting said, the tobacco industry gets around price as a hindrance by selling loose cigarettes, making them accessible to young people.

Infact, vigorous marketing strategies are aimed at people under the age of 18. 'They will write 'not for sale to persons under the age of 18',' she said.  Another challenge cited is the rapid increase of illicit trade of tobacco products.

Mophuting said while the government has banned advertising of tobacco products, the country is not free from cross border advertisements on television beamed from foreign stations and other mediums.

Statistics from BURS indicate that a total mass of tobacco products imported to Botswana from 2003 to 2009 is 17,598,900 kilogrammes, which translates to P1 776 735 969.24.

While the industry is 'making a kill', thousands and millions of lives continue to be endangered and lost through smoking and smoking-related afflictions like cancer.

 Recent statistics from the Ministry of Health show that cancer cases have grown from just 800 in 1999 to 12,115 at the beginning of 2010.

Statistics from the World Health Organisation reveal that more than two million people died due to tobacco in developing countries, while the numbers are projected to increase five-fold to seven million between 2025 and 2030.