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Facts

 Tobacco kills up to half of its active and ex-users.

 Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year. More than 5 million of these deaths are the direct results of tobacco use while more than 600,000 are as a result of exposure to second hand smoke. Unless urgent action is taken, the total death attributable to tobacco could reach 8 million by 2030.

 Tobacco smoking including exposure to second hand smoke is the second leading risk factor of DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years), constituting 6.3% to the Global Burden of Disease.

 Nearly, 80% of the world’s 1 billion smokers live in low-and middle-income countries.

 There are an estimated 7,357 compounds and 70 of these had been confirmed to be carcinogenic.

 5 – 15% of the disposable income of smokers is spent on tobacco.

 Assuming smoking were to be reduced by 50% by the year 2020, approximately 180 million tobacco-related deaths could be avoided.

The WHO has set aside, the 31st of May, every year to bring to public attention the health risks associated with tobacco use and call on its member states to do more in terms of adopting and implementing effective policies to discourage tobacco consumption.

For the year 2015, the WHO is calling on member states to consolidate their efforts to end the illicit trade in tobacco products since this is a major global concern in terms of health, legal, economic, governance and corruption.

The extent of the problem
According to studies and information provided by the global customs community, one out of every ten (10) cigarettes consumed globally is from an illicit tobacco market. The illicit trade in cigarettes cost the European Commission and its member States, an estimated €10 billion annually in lost tax and customs revenue.

However, this does not mean the problem is only confined to high-income countries. The players in this industry have not spared any country since they are trying every means to maximise net returns. In responds to the threat posed by the illicit trade in tobacco, the international community negotiated and adopted in November, 2012, the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit trade in Tobacco Products, the first protocol to be drafted out of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.


Aims of the Protocol
The protocol aims to eliminate all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products by requiring parties to take measures to control the supply chain of tobacco products effectively and to cooperate internationally on a wide range of matters. The provisions about the supply chain of tobacco products comprise measures regarding licensing, due diligence, tracking and tracing, record keeping, security and preventive measures, sales by internet, telecommunication or any other evolving technology, free zones and international transit, and duty free sales.

Other provisions of the protocol cover offences, such as unlawful conduct and criminal offences, seizure payments and disposal/destruction of confiscated products. The third key area of the protocol covers international cooperation, including information sharing, assistance and cooperation, mutual administrative and legal assistance and extradition, reporting and exchange of information.

A Call for Action
Due to the fact that, tobacco is the only legal consumer product that kills when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer, there is the need for Ghana to take more action to prevent needless deaths. Ghana, as a party to the WHO FCTC and the first protocol of the convention, is being called upon to do more in terms of enforcement to curb illicit trade in tobacco products. As a country, it is not uncommon to see Ghana among countries that have ratified international conventions but we are always found wanting when it comes to the implementation of the provisions of these international conventions. The question is; have we succeeded in our effort to ban public smoking ?

Smoke Free Society
Since the coming into force of the WHO FCTC, efforts have been made to ban public smoking and even though it is no more fashionable to smoke openly in public, some unscrupulous individuals, foreigners and Ghanaians alike, realising the lapses in our enforcement drive, continue to smoke openly. There have been countless occasions where I have come across individuals smoke pass a police officer who could only afford to smile and not ask the smoker any questions. In one such incident, the smoker made an attempt to hide the cigarette when approaching the police officer only to resume the smoking after walking pass the officer. At least, a verbal caution and advice from the officer to put out the light or look for a suitable place to smoke could go a long way to protect unsuspecting citizens from the harmful effects of second hand smoke (SHS).

Enforce smoking restrictions at our stadium
Recently, there was a call from the corridors of the legislature to provide smoking places for people who wish to smoke to protect other members of the public from second hand smoke. This is indeed a call in the right direction but as to whether this is a priority for the state in these dire economic challenges remains to be seen. As a nation, it seems we have not gone pass the moral principles with regards to addiction in general. We still consider people who use substances as sinners; their drug using behaviour was a choice and therefore must not be helped. We continue to demonize drugs and these has not helped us to manage effectively the challenges of drug abuse. As a direct consequence, we have banned smoking in public places but have not provided alternative places for people to smoke because we think by so doing; we are encouraging them to continue in their ‘sinful’ act. Aside the public, the other option available for smokers is to smoke at home but of course, most smokers know the adverse effects their smoking habit have on other members of their families and would not like to expose them especially children and women who are most vulnerable to the effects of SHS.

Enforce smoking restrictions at our stadiums
The lack of designated places for smoking in the society has compelled some sports loving individuals to use the popular stands of our sports stadium as smoking places. In other jurisdictions, stewards are tasked to focus all their footballing time to the crowd thereby preventing the fans from misbehaving including smoking but this is not the case in our stadium, at least at the Accra Sports Stadium. This has made the sports stadium not friendly to some soccer loving fans since they are exposed to second hand smoke with adverse consequences in the future.

In both scenarios enumerated above, I do not blame the individuals involved because, addiction is real. Addiction is a brain disease. Addiction is a chronic relapsing condition. Addiction is part of us and the better we adopt models that reflect the many facets of human development and consider the benefits of harm reduction, the better it will be for our society.