Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

Seychelles approves graphic health warnings (50% of the surface)

The Seychelles government has approved new graphic health warnings on tobacco packages, which must cover at least 50 per cent of the package’s front and back.
The regulation was formally published in the Official Gazette on 1 October 2012. After having ratified the FCTC first in the African region in 2003, the government of the island country implemented comprehensive tobacco legislation in 2009.
A total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion sponsorship and a total ban of smoking in all enclosed work and public places are already well enforced.
The new warnings will be mandatory from April 2013.
More information
Download the regulations

Bloomberg's Initiative strategy in Africa in 2012?

While staff changes at CTFK occured in 2012, the level of the grants awarded (as of today) has been fairly low: $152.724 for projects in 3 countries: Ghana to promote pictorial warnings, Cameroon and Togo to support the enactment of strict regulations. Compared to the previous levels of funding this is very small. The same probably goes for the American Cancer Society that manages the millions provided by the Gates Foundation but does not provide any detailed budget.

Ghana new tobacco control law bans smoking in public places

The new regulations also include big health warnings on the packs. Let us look for the implementation and pictures of the new packs.

Bloomberg Initiative: $39,709 to support tobacco control regulations in Ghana

The Bloomberg Initative has awarded $39.709 to Vision for Alternative Development to support a "consolidated campaign for the Implementation of the FCTC Article 11 (Pictorial Health Warnings) and implementation of Ghana's Public Health ACT.
According to the BI site, the 6 months project aims to strengthen tobacco control in Ghana by creating the supportive environment necessary for the Implementation of Article 11 of the FCTC.

Studying tobacco control laws in Africa

Visiting the tobacco control laws website initiated by the International Legal Consortium of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids I find analyses of the existing legislation of a few countries (5) but not the texts themselves. Maybe local advocates could provide the original texts so everybody can access them?

What makes an effective campaign?

Each campaign needs to have a focus in four areas throughout the campaign. The campaign needs effective management, it needs the right policy, it needs an effective communication strategy and it needs the right network. These elements interplay with each other.

From the Network Advocacy blog.

Canada to adopt new graphic warnings on 75% of the packs

While in Togo the Parliament has just abandoned the insertion of graphic warnings on the packs (one wonders why), the Canadian government has just announced there will be 16 new graphic warnings and each image will cover 75% of the pack. An example to follow. The picture above is of Barbara Tarbox, a cancer victim and tobacco control advocate who died on May 18, 2003 at 42: with this picture she continues her fight to incite people not to smoke. Thanks (once again) to Rob Cunningham who has provided most of the info and links. Happy new year to all.

Richard Cohen: The faces behind the deadly tobacco addiction

Richard Cohen wrote this very interesting chronicle for the Washington Post about posting the faces of the cigarette companies  CEOs on the packs. There is a (non-scientific) poll along the article: are you in favor of this suggestion? last time I checked the Yes were at 62%. Do you have pictures of the CEOs in your country?

From COP4: in Kenya the new government tobacco control plan includes graphic warnings

The Kenyan Government has announced that spine-chilling images of throat cancer tumours and rotten teeth are to appear on cigarette packets before 2012, intended to shock smokers out of the habit.

Findings show that the enlarged health warnings that manufacturers put oncigarette packets over the past two years have had little effect. Only two per cent of middle-aged Kenyans are kicking the smoking habit every year, according to government research.

Source: FCA Bulletin 109, article by John Muchangi on page 2 (here in pdf format)

New graphic warnings in ... Chile. Why not in Cameroon or Kenya? or Madagascar?

Why not an All Africa campaign to push for graphic warnings? Mauritius is showing the way. 

Sigareth, the tobacco control comic strip is now available on line

 Sigareth, the comic strip created by Titane Laurent for VISA-Mauritius to promote having graphic health warnings on cigarette packs is now available in a blog format in English and in French. Contact Véronique Le Clézio (at [email protected]) if you want to distribute the strip in your country and organize the accompanying advocacy campaign

Graphic warnings are coming in many countries: what about Africa?

Here in the Philippines they have finalized requirements so that graphic health information will appear at the top 30% of the front, and the top 60% of the back.  A separate law (which continues in force) requires a 30% text warning to appear on the front.  Thus total messages on the front would be 60%. What is the situation in your country? Visit the Campaign for graphic warnings for inspiration.

What the plain packaging of cigarettes will look like in Australia

 

The Australian government has decided that by July 2012 plain packaging will apply to cigarette packs. See what they would look like thanks to the Cancer Council. The warning covers 90% of the pack with 10% at the bottom for the brand name.

WHO creates new pictorial health warnings database

The World Health Organization has just published an online database of pictorial health warnings. The database is categorized by topic and by Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Graphic/picture warnings in Africa

Rob Cunningham has produced a résumé of the situation worldwide (below). I have extracted what concerns Africa: Egypt (2008), Djibouti (2009), Mauritius (2009), under consideration South Africa.

Have sizable but not graphic warnings: Cameroon (50%, 50%), Eritrea (50%, 50%), Madagascar (50%, 50%).

Plenty of room for improvement since this change does not require any significant funding.

Admire (again) the graphic warnings of Mauritius and push for a similar development in your country

The pictures are posted on the site of Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada. Rob Cunnigham reminds us that "Mauritius requires picture warnings to cover 60% of the front (in French), and 70% of the back (in English).

Mauritius has the largest sized warnings in Africa, and the second largest picture warnings in the world after Uruguay (80% front, 80% back).

Note that on the pack, the depiction of the warning is done horizontally, while on the front it is vertically."

Uruguay now has graphic health warnings covering 80% of the cigarette pack: what about Africa?

Uruguay has a population of about 3,3 million people but they have been able to implement this drastic evolution: earlier the size of the warning (on the right) was already at 50%, now on the left it's 80%. The pictures are on both sides of the pack. Congratulations Uruguay! What country in Africa will emulate Uruguay?

Source: Eduardo Bianco via Rob Cunningham. Below a pack of the Fiesta brand with the new 80% warnings on the back and on the front.

CTFK's Matt Myers assesses global tobacco control

Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids that is a key component of the Bloomberg Initiative comments on the recent WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2009. He notes that most governments are falling short in implementing the policies required by the international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.