Secondhand smoke remains a challenge despite laws

While several African countries are making progress in implementing smokefree laws, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke.

According to Global Voices: Rebutting the Tobacco Industry Winning Smokefree Air, a report released on the eve of the African Organisation for Research & Training in Cancer (AORTIC) conference, more than 400-million people are protected by “comprehensive” smokefree laws with a further 500-million covered by “strong” smokefree laws.

“Comprehensive” smokefree laws do not allow any designated smoking rooms and include only extremely limited exemptions, while “strong” laws allows for these rooms.

The report points out that while there has been rapid progress there is a long way to go with people in low and middle-income countries set to bear the brunt of the global tobacco epidemic. Without clear tobacco control policies, tobacco-related illness, disability and death will follow.

The report calls on governments to continue to act if they are to meet the goal of protecting everyone from secondhand smoke by 2012 with most countries having to considerably strengthen existing smoking restrictions in order to meet the target.

Multinational tobacco companies are also accused of using fake “science” to buy influence, scare stories and cover ups – using their considerable wealth to stop smokefree laws in every region of the world. In Kenya, the tobacco industry has issued a legal challenge to a strong smokefree law passed by the Parliament and in Zambia British American Tobacco has helped to dilute proposals for a smokefree law.

Dr Thomas Glynn, Director for International Cancer Control at the American Cancer Society (ACS) told a press gathering this week that in the United States 50 000 people die every year from secondhand smoke exposure, while 10 times this number will get sick from it. “Secondhand smoke sickens and kills, there is no safe level of exposure,” said Glynn, adding that a person’s arteries started to harden within in 30 minutes of exposure.

ACS economist Evan Blecher shared data revealing that the steep economic growth in Africa had been coupled with a steep rise in tobacco consumption and would eventually lead to a rise in tobacco-related cancers.

Mozambique, one of the fastest growing economies on the continent, has seen a 220% growth in cigarette consumption over the last 16 years, while the disease and cancer burden is projected to double. Nigeria, where 40% of Africa’s population live, has seen a staggering 60% rise in cigarette consumption.

“A country that grows by 5% per year will see cigarette consumption double in about 12 years,” said Blecher. Economic growth makes cigarettes more affordable to more people, but one of the government’s best measures to control this is to introduce or increase tax on tobacco products.

In South Africa, the price of tobacco products has tripled over the past 15 years leading to a decrease in consumption. “The country will see a decline in deaths related to tobacco,” he said.

Over R8-billion, two percent of government revenue was collected via the tax on tobacco products in 2009.