The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged the government to introduce policies to control the use of tobacco because it is a leading risk factor for some serious non-communicable diseases.
The Country Representative of WHO, Dr Owen Kaluwa, who made the call suggested, for instance, the imposition of high taxes on tobacco companies to deter them from going into production.
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In the event of the companies paying such taxes, he said, the revenue generated should be used to finance health delivery.
He was speaking at a public forum to mark World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) in Accra last Wednesday.
Avoid tobacco
Dr Kaluwa said globally, tobacco kills about 7.2 million people every year, over 80 per cent of whom are from low or middle-income countries.
“In Africa, about 146,000 adults aged 30 years and above die every year due to tobacco-related health diseases,” he added.
He said the use of tobacco was a leading preventable risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic lung disease.
“Up to half of all tobacco users will die prematurely from tobacco-related causes, and on average, tobacco users lose 15 years of their lives,” he said.
Mr Kaluwa added that the growing of tobacco had affected agricultural lands in some areas.
Public education
At her turn, a Deputy Minister of Health, Mrs Tina Mensah, said adequate public education was important in dealing with the problem of tobacco use.
She reiterated the fact that tobacco use was dangerous to human health and damaging to national economic development.
“Tobacco-related illnesses and premature mortality impose direct and indirect cost to individuals and government,” she said.
She noted that tobacco production companies tried to influence the young generation to become addicted to smoking, which was a national threat.
She applauded the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) for its intervention in combating the use of tobacco by preventing tobacco companies from advertising their products.
Mrs Mensah said the ministry, for its part, would continue to support the fight against the use of tobacco in the country.
Preventive measures
Outlining some measures that had been put in place to check tobacco usage, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, Mrs Delese A. Darko, mentioned the prohibition of smoking in public places, advertising prohibition and sponsorship as examples.
She added that packaging, labelling and health warnings on tobacco packages were other ways of preventing and discouraging tobacco consumers from patronising the product.
“These prohibitions have shown to be effective in reducing the demand for tobacco,” she said, adding that public sensitisation and education would, accordingly, be increased to meet the target groups.
“As we get funding, we will continue to do more to inform the public about the harmful effects of the use of tobacco,” Mrs Mensah said.
In connection with the celebration, Smoking Cessation Guidelines and a declaration on WNTD 2017 were launched.