A strong law to fight against smoking
Every year, tobacco kills more than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS combined. If in the opinion of other diseases appear to be at the forefront in terms of deaths, tobacco decimated by more silence lives.
At the end of the century, one billion people will be killed by tobacco. The largest number of victims will be counted in Africa. Our continent is in a critical situation. But the good news is that with the introduction of anti-smoking laws, parliaments and governments have the power to stop the massacre.
Despite the disinformation campaigns and obstacles, parliaments and governments should resist the tobacco industry to pass laws that are overwhelmingly supported by the people.
The law is not just symbolic. She is the real trigger for the fight against tobacco to the extent a positive impact on public health in the country. These measures; Protection against exposure to tobacco smoke; the ban on advertising tobacco, promotion and sponsorship; Preventing youth access to tobacco products; the printing of health warnings on packages and higher prices by a tax on public health.
The inventory of tobacco consumption in Cameroon is very worrying. The first Global Survey on Smoking among Adults (GATS Cameroon 2013) conducted by the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with the National Institute of Statistics in order to have evidence on smoking shows that:
• 1,100,000 million adults are tobacco users;
• 19.2% of adults are exposed to smoke tobacco at work;
• 22, 9% of adults who have taken public transport are exposed to tobacco smoke;
• 80.4% of adults are in favor of a smoking ban in all indoor public places.
The truth is this: Cameroon will be a healthier, more productive with the establishment of a strong anti tobacco legislation. The authorities, allowing the adoption of the anti smoking law, take a historic decision against a scourge that, by the end of the century could decimate more lives than all other diseases combined.
(
(
