Tuesday the 24th January 2017 goes down the History of the Cameroonian Coalition for Tobacco Control (C3T) as the day the organization held its concertation meeting for 2017.  The 13 Participants at the meeting, all members of the coalition brainstormed on activities to be executed for the year, that could yield fruits and save the lives of Cameroonians.

During the meeting, it was noted that the coalition was very active in 2016 as it successfully celebrated its 10th anniversary in Bamenda and Yaounde, organized training workshops for journalists, the civil society and the tobacco control inter-ministerial committee of Cameroon, as well as a poster exhibition to push for the adoption of Graphic Health Warnings (GHWs) in Cameroon.

Members also noted with satisfaction, the coalitions vigilance to detect subtle publicity by the tobacco industry through billboards planted in different parts of the country, and its ability to counter this interference with support from the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA). They also expressed their satisfaction with the coalitions ongoing campaign to get regulations for GHWs and a Tobacco Advertising Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) Ban in the country.

Still in collaboration with ATCA, C3T carried out the first phase of the Tobacco Industry Accountability (TIA) Project which aimed to show that the industry targets schools in its advertising and promotion campaigns. C3T’s performance was highly appreciated by ATCA, this to the satisfaction of members of the coalition.

For the year 2017, C3T members adopted that the coalition continues with this push so that it consolidates the progress made so far even as it advances in efforts to get regulations. Members adopted that the coalition continues to have sensitization campaigns in schools and youth groups, advocacy visits, media dialogues and other regular activities of the coalition. Perhaps the most interesting piece of information from the meeting is the resolve to have another GHWs poster exhibition in Douala, as part of activities to commemorate World No Tobacco Day 2017.

Tobacco control activists and individuals with tobacco control interest can therefore expect to have a spectacular 2017 with C3T.