Issued by: Department of Health
2 September 2008
The African Ministers of Health have developed a position statement on tobacco control for adoption at the 3rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 3) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to be held in Durban in November this year.
The statement was adopted in principle by the African Ministers of Health in Yaounde in Cameroon today.
Opening the meeting, chaired by Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the WHO-AFRO Regional Director Dr Luis Sambo said: "We are currently seeing an increase in tobacco use. An average of 25% of youth are tobacco users in the region."
The statement urges the international community to increase support towards effective tobacco control in the African region as well to tobacco growing countries such as Zimbabwe to transition towards economically viable alternative sustainable livelihoods.
Faced by the declining markets in the global North which threatens to have devastating effects on the economies of those countries, the tobacco industry has already stepped up its marketing in the global South to increase addiction to tobacco, according to the WHO.
If the current rates of addiction to tobacco continue to rise, the WHO predicts, that 10 million people will die per year of tobacco-related diseases by 2030.
Reacting to a section in the statement that proposes total ban of all tobacco marketing, the Minister of Health of Zimbabwe, enquired: "Will there be financial incentives to divert the tobacco growing countries to other economic alternatives? Is the issue of incentives real or just talk?"
To which the Head of the Convention Secretariat Dr Haik Nikogosian responded that the issue would be discussed extensively in November.
Countries such as Burundi and Uganda recommended that their colleagues Ministers of Finance and Trade should be involved in decision-making process on Tobacco Control, as this also impacted on their mandates. They suggested that an invitation for them to attend the COP 3 could be a start so that concrete decisions supported by financial resources could be taken and implemented.
While other countries proposed that the statement considered a reduction of nicotine to tolerant levels and use of tobacco for other activities for genetic modification, there were some of those who objected that this would open "pandora's box to a litany of abuse".
Contact: Charity Bhengu 083 679 7424