Ghana: Smoke Ban Presented to Parliament [08/07-3]

Excerpts from: Bill on Tobacco Smoking goes to Parliament

Ghana Web [08/06/03]

A bill on the ban of smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products at public places will soon be presented to Parliament for discussion and approval, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director- General of Ghana Health Service said on Wednesday in Accra. The bill, which would be guided by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, would address issues such as advertisements, sponsorship and warning to prevent people, especially the youth from accessing tobacco and tobacco products.

Briefing the press in Accra on Tobacco control, Prof. Akosa said government in 1989, made a pronouncement of ban on smoking in public places, which included cinemas, restaurants, theatres and public offices.

He said government had made efforts to control tobacco use, though there was no legislation backing the pronouncements. A directive was given by the Ministry of Health further banning smoking on the premises of any health facility throughout the country

He said the health hazards warning were not legible enough to warn smokers of the dangers involved by smoking, hence, "the need to enforce a law that would control that habit", he added.

Smoking kills five million people a year through tobacco-related diseases and 100 million people worldwide have died of smoking in the last century and it is estimated that there would be one billion deaths in this century unless smokers quit their habit.

The Director-General also urged night clubs, bars, restaurant operators to respect the health of their clients by creating a space for customers who are keen to "smoke their lives away" in order not to endanger the lives of the others since it was very costly treating patients.




This information is presented as a public service by:

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2013 H Street NW / Washington, DC 20006 / (202) 659-4310
A national nonprofit, scientific and educational organization founded in 1967.
All donations are fully tax deductible.

Material on this page may be freely reproduced, distributed, and circulated
with attribution given to Action on Smoking and Health.

Dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Warren Wells