Edith Wirdze
31 July 2008
Smoking has increasingly been said to be of risk to smokers and non-smokers.
Scientists say that the majority of deaths in the world today are as a consequence of tobacco consumption. They have identified two types of risks; smoking that affects the smoker and also passive smoking that affects the person who inhales the smoke, the involuntary exposure to tobacco smoking.
Global statistics show that about 1, 8 billion youths between 10 and 24, with more than 85 percent in developing countries, are involved in tobacco consumption. In Cameroon, for example, 37 percent of the population are victims of smoking.
About 45 percent of school-going youths have already tasted tobacco. In the university milieu, 60 percent of tobacco regular smokers are about the age of 20, indicating that youths are increasingly exposed to the risks of smoking.
It is due to this increasing burden that the World Health Organisation adopted the "WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, WHO FCTC," with the objective of improving health standards by adopting measures to pool away people from smoking. According to WHO, quitting smoking has immediate as well as long term benefits for the person and his/her loved ones.
The Convention was developed in response to the current globalisation of the tobacco epidemic, which is facilitated by a variety of complex factors with cross-border effects of trade liberalisation, foreign direct investment, global marketing, trans-national tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, international contraband movement and counterfeit cigarettes.
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers and that of those close to them in general.The Post learnt from the President of the Inter-Ministerial Task Force for Tobacco Control who doubles as the President of Tobacco Control Commission for Africa, Prof. Muna Walinjom, that tobacco consumption has many unpleasant effects in the human body.
He said smoking causes heart diseases, stroke, respiratory diseases, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and cancer.Prof. Muna explained that smoking during pregnancy causes health problems for both mothers and babies such as pregnancy complications, premature births, low-birth-weight infants, stillbirths, miscarriage and STDs.
In women, he said, smoking increases the risk of sterility or infertility and pre-term delivery.
Explaining the role of the government in controlling tobacco consumption, the Director of Health Promotion in the Ministry of Public Health, Daniel Sibetcheu, said Cameroon has ratified the "WHO FCTC", which defines strategies to reduce demand as well as supply issues of tobacco.
He explained that the government has passed a Ministerial Order obliging tobacco producers to carry messages stating that "tobacco seriously damages your health and that of persons close to you" on 50 percent of the packets of tobacco products. He also stated that there is article 39 of law No 2006/018 of 29 December 2006 that bans the advertising of tobacco.
He explained that smoking has been banned on public places, especially hospitals and that the prices of cigarettes have been increased to reduce demand.
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