Health officials at the Ministry of Health have renewed the call for behavioural change and collaborative efforts to curb the growing abuse of tobacco related products in The Gambia.
The call was made at a recent joint presser, which was organised at the backdrop of joint monitoring exercise enforcing the 2016 Tobacco Control Act that led to the seizure of a large quantity of tobacco products in the country.
The joint exercise organised by health officials alongside personnel from The Gambia Police Force (GPF), specifically targets illegal tobacco products in the country such as shisha and other tobacco products, which bear no graphic warnings signs, while enforcing the ban on selling single cigarette sticks in the country.
The widespread use of tobacco products, according to officials, has led to increased burden in Non-Communicable Diseases, while also increasing cost of provision of health care.
At a recent quarterly press briefing held at the Central Medical Store in Kotu, Omar Badjie, programme officer NCD at the Ministry, disclosed that the quarterly meeting accords them the opportunity to share some of the development they have on tobacco control.
"We have series of activities sponsored by Management Health Sciences, a one-year project and this is the second phase. Last year, we had a similar one and its phases out and this year too, we were lucky to one and this is what we are implementing. After the implementation of each milestone, we do have press briefing to ensure that whatever we are doing in the community people matters."
Badjie thus called on all to join the fight against tobacco control, saying the fight is not a one man show, but multi sectoral approach to reduce tobacco use in the country.
Also speaking, Micheal Manga Mendy, director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry, who is also the chairperson of the Tobacco Control Committee, described the initiative as another move in their continued fight against tobacco abuse in the country.
He underscored the role of the media in the fight, adding that the only way to update the public is to engage the media about their interventions and activities.
That, he added is another way to enlighten people about the dangers of tobacco use and what collectively people can do to control the use of tobacco in the country.
"I know it will be a difficult task, but it is always easy when we put our hands together and work collectively."
To that end, he calls for concerted effort by all to help in controlling the use of tobacco in the country, acknowledging that the implementation of those Policies and the Act can only be strengthened through community engagement.
Commissioner Pa Bojang of The Gambia Police Force, who led the security during the recent Joint Monitoring Exercise, acknowledged that they achieved a lot during the exercise, but a lot more still needs to be done.
He made reference to the ban on selling of single sticks of cigarette in the country, reminding that there still are some exiting loopholes that need to be filled particularly in the Greater Banjul Area.
Commissioner Bojang lauded the compliance level in the provinces and commended the task force on tobacco in the area.
He thus calls for concerted effort by all, attributing tobacco abuse as a catalyst to significant surge in crimes in the country.
He deplored that the burden on health and even crime is all attributed to tobacco abuse, pointing out that youth have now resorted to using shisha not only in recreation centres, but even in homes.
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Seyfo Singhateh of the NCD, gave a rundown of the some of the activities they have conducted in the past with regards to tobacco control in the country.
He revealed that the project from Management Health Sciences supports awareness and enforcement activities on tobacco control.
He explained that since the launch of the project, they have conducted series of activities targeting community structures as well as enforcement activities.
The event wrapped up with question and answer-session.
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