Ms Edith Wellington, the Focal Person for Tobacco Control at the Ghana Health Service (GHS) appeals to the government to hasten the approval of the bill
banning the sale of cigarettes to minors.
Deputy Health Minister, Dr
Gladys Ashietey, says the bill on cigarettes is still in the process
of being passed into a law.
Source: Graphic Online
Cigarette Sale To Minors - Hasten Bill, GHS Appeals - Graphic Online
September 26, 2008
Augustina Tawiah
The Focal Person for Tobacco Control at the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has appealed to the government to hasten the approval of the bill banning the sale of cigarettes to minors.
"Currently there is no law banning the sale of cigarette to children so they are able to buy it easily. However, if there is such a law, the commodity would not be sold to them and they will have difficulty getting one to use," Mrs Edith Wellington, said in an interview.
Such a law, she added, would affect the sale of cigarettes so traders would not be encouraged to sell them.
According to a survey conducted and published by the Ghana Youth Tobacco Survey among junior high school pupils in the country in 2005, 33.9 per cent of students buy cigarettes from stores.
The survey, which was conducted among 9,990 students, stated that 55.9 per cent of those who bought cigarettes from stores were not refused purchase, despite their ages.
Furthermore, the study found out that approximately one in seven students used a form of tobacco, while four per cent of the students smoked cigarette and 12.5 per cent used tobacco products other than cigarette.
Mrs Wellington explained that cigarettes were also rather cheap so young people could easily purchase them to smoke, thereby increasing the rate of smoking among them.
She appealed to those who sold cigarettes to stop selling them to minors, since they were "selling death to children".
She said it was "important that children do not start smoking because once they do, the nicotine in cigarette will hook them to it".
"So all children who have not started smoking should not go near it at all and those who have already started need to be helped to stop because it will shorten their life span," she stressed.
Mrs Wellington said the GHS and the Ministry of Health had distributed 21,000 posters showing how the bodies of smokers looked to basic schools in the country to educate the pupils on the effects of smoking and discourage those who had not started from doing so.
When contacted on phone for her reaction, Deputy Health Minister, Dr Gladys Ashietey, said the bill on cigarettes was still in the process of being passed into a law.
She, therefore, appealed to the media to intensify their education on the dangers of smoking so that the youth would stay away from the harmful practice.
"Even if the law is passed and there is no education on the harmful effects of smoking, children will still smoke. So the media should assist to educate children on the dangers associated with smoking," she explained.
Source: Graphic Online
September 26, 2008
Augustina Tawiah
The Focal Person for Tobacco Control at the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has appealed to the government to hasten the approval of the bill banning the sale of cigarettes to minors.
"Currently there is no law banning the sale of cigarette to children so they are able to buy it easily. However, if there is such a law, the commodity would not be sold to them and they will have difficulty getting one to use," Mrs Edith Wellington, said in an interview.
Such a law, she added, would affect the sale of cigarettes so traders would not be encouraged to sell them.
According to a survey conducted and published by the Ghana Youth Tobacco Survey among junior high school pupils in the country in 2005, 33.9 per cent of students buy cigarettes from stores.
The survey, which was conducted among 9,990 students, stated that 55.9 per cent of those who bought cigarettes from stores were not refused purchase, despite their ages.
Furthermore, the study found out that approximately one in seven students used a form of tobacco, while four per cent of the students smoked cigarette and 12.5 per cent used tobacco products other than cigarette.
Mrs Wellington explained that cigarettes were also rather cheap so young people could easily purchase them to smoke, thereby increasing the rate of smoking among them.
She appealed to those who sold cigarettes to stop selling them to minors, since they were "selling death to children".
She said it was "important that children do not start smoking because once they do, the nicotine in cigarette will hook them to it".
"So all children who have not started smoking should not go near it at all and those who have already started need to be helped to stop because it will shorten their life span," she stressed.
Mrs Wellington said the GHS and the Ministry of Health had distributed 21,000 posters showing how the bodies of smokers looked to basic schools in the country to educate the pupils on the effects of smoking and discourage those who had not started from doing so.
When contacted on phone for her reaction, Deputy Health Minister, Dr Gladys Ashietey, said the bill on cigarettes was still in the process of being passed into a law.
She, therefore, appealed to the media to intensify their education on the dangers of smoking so that the youth would stay away from the harmful practice.
"Even if the law is passed and there is no education on the harmful effects of smoking, children will still smoke. So the media should assist to educate children on the dangers associated with smoking," she explained.
Source: Graphic Online
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