By: Dawda Baldeh
Mamadou Gassama, WHO Health Promotion Officer, has revealed that the African continent is losing about 10.7 billion dollars annually due to tobacco use while spending more than 10.4 billion on tobacco cultivation.
Mr. Gassama made these revelations at a day-long orientation for journalists organized by RAID The Gambia in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the 2016 Tobacco Control Act which aimed at eliminating the use of tobacco products in the country.
The objective was to build the capacity of journalists on Tobacco Control Activities in the Gambia such as prevalence, rate, health and economic implications and the government response towards tobacco control.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Mr. Gassama outlined the negative effects of tobacco use and how it has become a leading global health threat killing more than other diseases.
He told journalists that about 57 million deaths are registered of all cases, and from that 41 million are due to non-communicable diseases.
“Tobacco alone kills 8 million people of which 7 million die as a result of direct use of tobacco while 1.2 million died as a result of secondhand smoke,” he revealed.
“Africa is spending 10.4 billion dollars on yearly bases and it loses about 10.7 billion as a result of tobacco use. There is nothing that we are gaining from tobacco.
“We are losing our loved ones as a result of tobacco and the world is losing about 22 billion tons of water as a result of cultivating tobacco which is an environmental hazard,” Gassama added.
Mr. Gassama revealed that 80 billions of carbon dioxide are being released into the air due to tobacco smoke, which is increasing global warming, adding that the world also loses about 22 billion tons of water due to cultivating tobacco.
Tobacco which is categorized as a non-communicable disease has been ranked as the world’s biggest problem that causes cardiovascular diseases, and infertility in both men and women among other diseases.
“NCD kills about 77% annually and there is no safe level of tobacco smoke. Tobacco is deadly. About 1.3 billion smokers are registered in the world and the majority are young people. The world is losing 1.4 trillion dollars because of tobacco use annually,” he explained.
Sambujang Conteh, the Executive Director of RAID, outlined some of the activities they have been engaging in since inception.
Mr. Conteh told journalists that they have been advocating the elimination of tobacco, implementation of the laws that prohibit public smoking, and awareness campaigns towards the fight against tobacco.
“This engagement is important because you are key partners for us to achieve our goals in eliminating tobacco use which is deadly. You can help to spread the message so that people can be aware of the risk they are exposed to by smoking.
We have participated in the process of drafting the tobacco control act 2016 which was accepted by President Yahya Jammeh,” he said.
Muhammed S. Bah, the President of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), thanked RAID the Gambia, WHO and the Ministry of Health for involving journalists towards the elimination of tobacco used in the Gambia.
“Media is not about reporting on speeches, it goes beyond that. The information and analysis shared by the experts are facts and not just mere political statements. I urged you all to take the task and report on these issues because it is a global threat,” he said.
MS. Bah further called on journalists to help in spreading awareness to the public in making sure that the risk of tobacco is well communicated.
The GPU president further recommended continuously partnering with the media to create more awareness of tobacco use. Bah, also called on RAID the Gambia, WHO and the government to help simplify the laws and translate them into the local languages for people to easily understand them.
Omar Badjie, NCD Program Manager & National Focal Person for Tobacco Control said the dangers of tobacco smoke are beyond imagination and has devastating effects on people.
“Smoking damages tissues throughout the body, clogs arteries cause blood clots/bleeding. Inhalation of smoke from tobacco products increases the risk of asthma attacks, risk of respiratory infection among others,” he said.
Different speakers buttress the need for the elimination of tobacco use in the country as the WHO warned that in a few years, tobacco smoke will be a leading cause of death in the world and countries globally are doing all it takes to eliminate the use of tobacco.
