Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

$ 84,962 for an Anglophone Lawyers Seminar in Addis Ababa

Recent grant noted on the Bloomberg Initiative website: $84,962 for The Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) to support a 5-day Seminar for English-speaking African lawyers in Addis Ababa on the FCTC and the drafting and implementation of effective tobacco control legislation.

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?

Ghana: We need a tobacco control law

This article by Jeorge Wilson Kingson of the Media Alliance on Tobacco Control was published January 21 on Ghana Web.

Niger: Evaluation of the implementation of the tobacco control law of Niger: successes and failures.

Inoussa Saouna of SOS Tabagisme Niger circulated this press release about a recent evaluation workshop about the situation in Niger. Could we suggest to Inoussa to use his blog? We also could not find a french version of this press release.

Malawi: lawsuit against a tobacco control advocate.

Kondwani Bell Munthali, Coordinator of the Smoke Free Malawi Project sent us this update. It includes news about a libel and defamation complaint against activist John Kapito by Nyasa manufacturing.

Nigeria: Ruling On N366 Billion Suit Against Tobacco Firms for March 6

Ola Ajayi writes about the conclusions of the parties.  Babatunde Irukera, counsel to ERA said, "the suit is about an industry that is killing people and they must take responsibility."

Source: AllAfrica

Nigeria: Philip Morris rejects court papers served in Switzerland: $45 billion tobacco lawsuit adjourned to January

Government lawyer Dapo Akinoshun told a Federal High Court in Abuja that Swiss-based Philip Morris had rejected court papers sent on three occasions by courier. Efforts to publish the summons in a Swiss newspaper had also failed, he said.
Philip Morris could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source: Reuters

BAT blocks in court the implementation of the new tobacco control Act in Kenya

The high court in Nairobi has suspended the new law after an application by 2 firms Mastermind Tobacco and multinational British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya Limited until the matter is heard and determined, in a suit in which the attorney general and the public health ministry are named as defendants.

Source:Maina Waruru in Nairobi for Africanews

Uganda tobacco farmers win suit against BAT

BRITISH American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) has been ordered to pay over sh3b to tobacco farmers as compensation for failure to buy their crop.
As found on the blog of Jackie Tumwine :)

Kano State Files Suit Against The Tobacco Industry

Kano State government has joined Lagos State to initiate a legal action against tobacco companies in Nigeria.

Source: This Day

Akinbode Oluwafemi, Environmental Rights Action's Manager In Lagos, Nigeria

Source : Rendez-vous 165 - May 7, 2007
Thank you Bode for taking the time to answer my questions. May I ask you to introduce yourself?

Akinbode Oluwafemi: My name is Akinbode Oluwafemi. I am the Programme Manager of Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Nigeria's foremost environmental campaign group. For over seven years, I have been involved in tobacco control activities both at the national and international levels.

Q1. I just read about ERA filing a lawsuit with the Lagos State government against BAT, Philip Morris International and the Tobacco Institute for "negligence, public nuisance, liability, conspiracy to commit actionable wrongs" and asking for $21 billion in compensation.

Can you tell (a little) about the background of this initiative? How does an NGO links up with a State Government? Are there any precedents in Nigeria of such initiatives against big corporations? What gives you confidence that the lawsuit would achieve its end?

Source : Rendez-vous 165 - May 7, 2007
Thank you Bode for taking the time to answer my questions. May I ask you to introduce yourself?

Akinbode Oluwafemi: My name is Akinbode Oluwafemi. I am the Programme Manager of Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Nigeria's foremost environmental campaign group. For over seven years, I have been involved in tobacco control activities both at the national and international levels.

Q1. I just read about ERA filing a lawsuit with the Lagos State government against BAT, Philip Morris International and the Tobacco Institute for "negligence, public nuisance, liability, conspiracy to commit actionable wrongs" and asking for $21 billion in compensation.

A $21 billion lawsuit filed in Nigeria against BAT and Philip Morris

This sounds like an exciting lawsuit filed by ERA (Environmental Rights Action) and the Lagos State.

Source: The Guardian.