Tendai Gukutikwa
Own Writer
AFRICAN Governments have been challenged to enact laws that will enhance the availability and dissemination of information on the harms of tobacco and other harmful products.
The adoption of harm reduction policies that will facilitate the access and dissemination of information on the health and social impacts of these products, especially among vulnerable groups.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with health journalists from across the continent recently, the founder of the African Harm Reduction Alliance, Dr Kgosi Letlape, urged Governments to adopt harm reduction policies that will facilitate the access and dissemination of information on the health and social impacts of these products, especially among vulnerable groups.
He said there is a need for legal frameworks that promote public awareness and education on the dangers of tobacco and other harmful products as has been emphasized by experts.
Dr Letlape said this is because such products pose serious health risks to the users and the public, and require effective regulation and control.
“By creating legislative frameworks that will improve access and make people well informed about the effects of these harmful products like tobacco, African Governments can protect their citizens and promote public health,” he said.
The meeting was an informative session on science and harm reduction.
Dr Letlape further stated that there is need for African countries, including Zimbabwe and South Africa to adopt and draft modern policies on the dangers that come with tobacco.
“Combustion is the problem. The main issue is the combustion process. When tobacco is burned, it produces thousands of harmful chemicals that cause diseases and deaths. Many people are still fighting against tobacco use, yet also fighting nicotine.
“What we need is to ensure that we advocate for policies that are based on science and not beliefs. Scientific evidence shows that harm reduction policies can prevent the spread of infectious diseases, reduce overdose deaths, improve access to treatment, and protect human rights. Therefore, harm reduction policies should be guided by the best available research and evaluated for their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
“We also have to understand that any policy framework that is worth its piece of salt that is not harmful to society has to embrace the principles of harm reduction and apply them fully to tobacco use as was the promise of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),” he said.
The FCTC is the first international public health treaty negotiated under WHO auspices. Zimbabwe is a party to the FCTC whose key provisions are to implement a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, the implementation of strong health warnings on tobacco packaging that cover at least 30% of the principal display areas, protection from second hand smoke in all indoor workplaces and public places and in public transportation; and measures to reduce the smuggling of tobacco products.
Dr Letlape said there is need for promotion of aspects that apply harm reduction strategies.
He said; “We also need to engage the industry. We know that there can be no solution without engaging the people that cause the problem just like how the world is dealing with climate change by engaging the environment polluters. We need to get the industry and encourage it to switch from combustibles which are harmful to health to alternatives which are less harmful.”
According to Clive Bates, the Director of Action on Smoking and Health UK, many people in Africa are switching to more harmful smoking habits as a result of the current public health policies.
He said that these policies are ineffective and counterproductive, and that they need to be revised to promote safer alternatives to smoking.
The World Health Organization records that smoking kills around eight million people each year.
It further states that in the African region, 44 countries have ratified or acceded to the WHO FCTC. Despite this however, strengthening the implementation of the convention is one of the big challenges for countries in the region.
“Countries in the region are experiencing an increasing rate of tobacco use. The fast growth of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa and an increase in consumer purchasing power is leading to larger and more accessible markets in Africa. In addition to that there are the intensive efforts by the tobacco industry to expand African markets,” reads the WHO website.
Between 2002 and 2030, tobacco-attributable deaths are projected to double in low and middle income countries including in Africa.
Two thirds of second-hand or passive smokers, are women working and living with men who smoke, states WHO.
SADC News Hub 