Africa is New Target for Big Tobacco

by Judith Achieng

The tobacco "epidemic," according to WHO, is increasingly becoming a major problem for developing countries, accounting for up to 80 percent of global cigarette consumption.

"Tobacco is a communicable disease transmitted by a very powerful vector -- advertisement," G.L. Moswemyane, WHO's environmental health officer in Botswana, told an inter-country parliamentary meeting on tobacco here.

WHO data on Africa indicates a steady upward rise during the last decade, estimated at 2.5 percent higher than the rate of increase noted in other developing countries.

Smoking prevalence in the continent ranges from between 15 percent to a high of 67 percent, a factor largely attributed to intense promotional campaigns by the tobacco industry targeting youths in all the countries in the region.

"It was rare to see young people smoking. Now it is a common thing among young boys, girls and sex workers," Ashbie Mweemba, a health Official from Zambia, said at the meeting being held in the Kenyan capital.

A recent WHO study conducted in Nairobi revealed a high level of tobacco use -- 67 percent of men and 32 percent of women were reported smokers -- a trend applicable to nearly all African countries.

"Their new market is Africa. They are being sued elsewhere or people are beginning to stop smoking. The multinationals sponsor activities associated with young people, such as pool and soccer," Mweemba notes.

Many African countries have anti-tobacco legislation, but lack capacity to implement the laws. Little information is available for the public on the effects of tobacco on health, militating against implementation of tobacco control legislation.

For example in Zambia, the anti-tobacco law stipulates that children under the age of 16 should be denied access to cigarettes, but retailers still openly sell them to children under age.

In Nairobi Kenya, street children as young as 4 buy cigarettes for their own use from vendors. "Right now, most Africans don't know there are repercussions that come with smoking," says Mweemba.

African governments are being encouraged to increase tobacco tax revenue, which in turn would be directed to tobacco control.

Rising the price of tobacco has been seen as one of the simplest and most effective methods of significantly reducing tobacco use, especially in developing countries and among the youth, who have less disposable income.

The power and popularity of a tobacco tax increase in turn, according to WHO, can be dramatically enhanced by using the revenue to fund tobacco control.

The week-long meeting will also address the challenges of globalization, which restricts the ability of countries to regulate tobacco, a problem which has spread through a set of complex factors that transcend national borders.

The meeting is part of the WHO global initiative on tobacco control. WHO has also began negotiations for the establishment of a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

The framework convention is expected to strengthen government legislation by addressing tobacco-related agricultural policies in producing countries, prices and taxes of tobacco and the controversial issue of advertising.