Kampala — LUNG cancer in Uganda has increased ten-fold, according to the latest report from the Uganda Cancer Institute, Mulago. There are now 30 to 40 patients admitted at the institute annually.

Lung cancer is just one of the diseases caused by tobacco smoking and chewing and most of the people dying of the disease in Uganda are always in their prime productive years.

According to experts, it costs about sh10m to treat a single patient a year. This means a sum of between sh300m and sh400m has to be forked out to meet the treatment of these patients.

Uganda's health sector and healthcare system leaves a lot to be desired and yet some 70% of tobacco-related deaths occur in developing countries like Uganda.

The hospitals in this country are overcrowded and in many cases even the most basic drugs and treatment kits are not available.

Drugs are prescribed and patients are expected to buy them from private clinics and hospitals, often at prohibitive prices.

Against that background, the country can ill-afford the extra burden of the deadly tobacco-related diseases, which, with aggressive sensitisation and firm legal measures, can be avoided altogether or significantly controlled. In 2004, the Government banned smoking in public places, but unfortunately, the ban lacked political and legal backing and was soon ignored and it was business as usual! In the light of the present statistics, this must not happen again.

It is a whiff of fresh air that the Government is preparing a tougher law to control tobacco use. No stone must be left unturned and the Tobacco Bill 2009 must be tabled as soon as possible and translated into law as a matter of urgency to save smokers and non-smokers alike from the scourge of a self-imposed and reckless lifestyle which devastates both our health and economy.

The profits from the tobacco industry make no sense if they have to be ploughed back to treat tobacco-related diseases!