By Kemo Cham
[First published on www.politicosl.com] The World Health Organization
regional office for Africa has called on member countries to expand
anti-tobacco policies with particular emphasis on packaging and labeling.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional
Director for Africa, called for consideration of a total ban on
advertisement of tobacco products. In a statement marking this year’s World No
Tobacco Day, she also said countries were obliged to take all these in line
with the UN convention on tobacco control – FCTC.
“Countries should expand policies on
packaging and labelling to include pictorial warnings. They should consider
totally banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, in line with
their obligations to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),
DrMoeti said.
“The adoption of a
multi-sectoral approach to tobacco control will be critical,” he added.
World No Tobacco Day is commemorated
every year on May 31. WHO and partners use the day to raise awareness about the
dangers of tobacco consumption.
Decades of efforts to control the
use of tobacco has been frustrated by aggressive promotional tactics by the
rich and influential tobacco industry. Campaigners therefore believe the best
way to tackle the menace caused by tobacco is by making it unattractive to its
users, in addition to other legislations that seek to restricts its
circulation.
The theme of this year’s
commemoration is “Get Ready for Plain packaging.”
Plain packaging of tobacco
products refers to measures that require packages of all tobacco products to
have a standard colour and style, and to bear only the name of that specific
product. It removes the use of colours, logos and images on tobacco
products, thus making them less attractive especially to young people.
In the African Region, about 146,000
adults aged 30 years and above die every year from tobacco-related diseases,
according to the United Nations health agency. It said this makes tobacco one
of the leading preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as
cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The FCTC is the first international
treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. It was adopted by the World Health
Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005. It has
since become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United
Nations history.
The Convention was developed in
response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based
treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of
health. The FCTC represents a milestone for the promotion of public health and
provides new legal dimensions for international health cooperation.
As part of efforts to protect people
from the harmful effects of tobacco use, countries in the Region are
implementing a range of measures in line with this treaty.
Some of the measures include getting
pictorial health warnings on tobacco packages, as is the case countries like
Chad, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia and Seychelles. Other countries have
prohibited the display and visibility of tobacco products at where
they are sold.
Activities such as cross-border
advertising, promotion and sponsorship are not allowed in a number of
countries as well.
(C) Politico 02/16/16
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