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.
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