Read articles from Africa
February 22, 2024 by the-star.co.ke
Health ministry begins process to tighten tobacco laws
The Ministry of Health is updating the Tobacco Control Act to regulate nicotine products like e-cigarettes and pouches due to their popularity among Kenyan youth. The revisions aim to strengthen regulations and address gaps to protect public health. Dr. George Githuka highlighted the need to anticipate future tobacco products and enhance collaboration with partners. The WHO warns of the harmful impacts of tobacco on health and socio-economic well-being. The updates will also restructure the compensation fund. The current law mandates funding for tobacco control programs, which has not been implemented.
February 01, 2024 by filtermag.org
Watch: Mandela Asked This Harm Reductionist, “How Can I Be Helpful?”
Dr. Kgosi Letlape has been a passionate and relentless activist on the side of “the underdog,” as he puts it, for most of his life. An ophthalmologist in South Africa, Letlape is the former chairman of the South African Medical Association and a co-founder of the Africa Harm Reduction Alliance. In our filmed interview, he told Filter how South Africa’s devastating HIV epidemic has profoundly changed him, shifting him from “not just activism of talking, but of action and making things happen.”
January 08, 2024 by businesstech.co.za
Call to change smoking and vaping taxes in South Africa
South Africa needs to strike a balance between the perspectives of both economists and health experts as to how tax rates should be determined for nicotine products, says Marius van Oordt, an expert in indirect taxation in developing countries. Over the past several years, the world has seen an evolution of tobacco and nicotine products, particularly evident in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS or e-cigarettes). To accommodate such a change, experts have been presenting contrasting views.
December 04, 2023 by businesstech.co.za
Warning over new smoking laws for South Africa
Gauteng residents are divided on the hotly contested draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, with businesses warning that implementing the new laws will have negative consequences for the country’s township economy. The Portfolio Committee on Health recently held three public hearings over the Bill in Gauteng, and much like the public engagement in Limpopo, the North West, and Mpumulanga, there was support and rejection of the Bill. The Bill broadly aims to introduce the following:
- Declare indoor public places and certain outdoor areas 100% smoke-free.
- Ban the sale of cigarettes through vending machines. [...]
November 16, 2023 by who.int
Malawi ‘s ratification of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control comes into effect
With this historic decision, Malawi joins a community of 182 other Parties to the Convention, affirming the country’s high-level political commitment to combatting the global tobacco epidemic and prioritizing public health and well-being. The Convention, which Malawi ratified in August 2023, is a crucial international treaty designed to address the severe public health risks associated with tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. Its ratification by Malawi demonstrates the country’s determination to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.
October 25, 2023 by vanguardngr.com
Adopt harm reduction approaches in public healthcare, Nigeria, others told
Stakeholders across Africa have called on the Nigerian government and other governments across Africa, to adopt harm reduction approaches and to integrate harm reduction principles and practices when regulating public health challenges. Harm reduction refers to interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviours without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviours entirely or permanently. The President of the African Medical Association and the Association of Medical Councils of Africa, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, described harm reduction as a more transformative strategy than prohibition-based policies.
October 23, 2023 by moroccoworldnews.com
Morocco to Hike Import Duties on E-Cigarettes
Rabat - Morocco is set to increase customs duties on e-cigarettes under the new 2024 budget. The import duties would be applicable to disposable electronic cigarettes from 2.5% to 40%, according to the presentation note for this project. The increase aims to apply the same import duty rate to disposable electronic cigarettes as that applied to other electronic cigarettes for the fiscal year 2023, as stated in the note published on the Ministry of Economy and Finance website.
October 11, 2023 by tobaccoreporter.com
Kenya Wants to Ban BAT Nicotine Pouches
Kenyan legislators are urging the government to ban the sale of BAT’s nicotine pouches Velo and Lyft, reports 2Firsts. The Kenyan Tobacco Control Act (KTCA) states that all packaging of nicotine pouches and tobacco products must contain warnings in English and Kiswahili. Sabina Chege, Member of Parliament, showed two boxes of Velo nicotine pouches, which only displayed a reminder that Velo contains nicotine, which can be addictive. The argument by experts is that nicotine also poses serious health risks.
September 25, 2023 by who.int
Namibia strengthens tobacco control
The Ministry of Health and Social Services with support from WHO conducted a five-day tobacco training workshop to strengthen tobacco control measures in the country. Namibia ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2005. [...] the Namibian government banned all tobacco product advertisements in the electronic and print media, billboards and promotion well before the Tobacco Products Control Act of 2010 was signed into law.