Ghana: communique issued at the end of the national strategy meeting on the tobacco control bill

We, the Civil Society Organizations’ and representative of Government Agencies at the National Stakeholders Strategy Meeting on the ‘Tobacco Control Bill’ organized by the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) at M-Plaza Hotel in Accra, on June 9^th 2009. 

 

Alarmed by the spread of tobacco epidemic in Africa and its devastating effects on Ghana’s health, environment, economy and society;

 

Concerned about the frightening prospects of the increased smoking trends among the youth and women;

 

Recognizing the increasing interest of the Tobacco Industry in Ghana as a strong market at the expense of health, the increasing youthful population now represents its main target;

 

Acknowledging the switch of the marketing strategies of the Tobacco Industry from the more informed regions of the world to the African continent;

 

Aware of the difficulties on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and of the lack of anti-tobacco legislations to stem the tide and protect the population in Ghana;

 

Mindful of the disparity amongst civil society organization and agencies in capacity to fight the Tobacco Industry and to conduct tobacco control initiatives;

 

Determined to work with Government and development partners to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the ‘Tobacco Control Bill’ when passed into Law;

 

Urge Government:

 

·        To swiftly pass a strong ‘Tobacco Control Bill’ into law

 

·        To establish a ‘Tobacco Control Funds’

 

·        To include tobacco control on the developmental agenda

 

·        To as a matter of urgency ban smoking in public place

 

·        To ban single sale of cigarette

 

·        To adopt picture warnings on tobacco packs

 

·        To reduce interaction with the tobacco industries and any such meeting should be made public

 

·        To increase tax on tobacco products to make it unattractive and expensive to children and youth to consume.

 

·        To effectively establish working relationship with NGOs towards achieving the objectives of the tobacco control legislations and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)

 

·        To support the development of a strong Protocol on illicit tobacco trade (The  third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Body – INB3 is taking place in June/July 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland)

 

 

Accra, 9 June 2009

 

 

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The above National Stakeholders Strategy Meeting on Ghana's 'Tobacco Control Bill'  is part of VALD advocacy on the passage of the Tobacco control Bill in Ghana funded by Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) and Norwegian Cancer Society (NCS).

 

Thanks

 

Issah Ali, Executive Director

Vision for Alternative Development

Accra , Ghana