Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI)

“This is my first participation to a workshop that analyses and explains key FCTC articles. This has deepened my knowledge on the subject and provided me with more reasons to commit to tobacco control in my country."

—Paul Ebusu, Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Uganda

Masaka, Uganda – The Uganda National Tobacco Control Association (UNTCA) hosted a 4-day tobacco control leadership capacity-building workshop from September 28 to October 1, 2011 in Masaka, Uganda. The workshop aimed to “identify and support a new generation of leaders in tobacco control and equip them with skills and resources for effective advocacy in the country.”

Sponsored and co-facilitated by the Africa Tobacco Control Consortium (ATCC), the training gathered 25 Ugandan tobacco control stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), civil society organizations, journalists, and staff of the newly created Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa (CTCA).

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Opinion article by Tih A. Ntiabang

When South African officials slapped a total ban on smoking in all stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, many of us started hoping against all hope that one day Africa would succeed in its struggle to go smoke-free.

While the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) commits Parties to protect their citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in indoor public places, workplaces and public transport, very few sub-Saharan African countries have enacted stringent policies to do this.

Nonetheless, it is amazing that one can today watch a soccer game in the legendary Kibasa Stadium in Lubumbashi, DR Congo, without exposure to second-hand smoke. This stadium was declared 100 per cent smoke-free earlier this year “thanks to a multi-stakeholder effort and most especially the willingness of the local government of the Katanga province to implement the regulations of the FCTC”, said Mr. Pierrot Yav Tshikumb, the manager of the stadium.

By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog

If smoking rates stay at current levels, smoking could create 18 million extra cases of tuberculosis worldwide and 40 million excess deaths from the disease by 2050, a study finds.

Researchers produced mathematical models based on various smoking rate scenarios to estimate rates of tuberculosis disease and deaths in each World Health Organization region around the world. The baseline scenario used current smoking levels to come up with the 18 million and 40 million numbers; right now, almost 20% of people worldwide smoke tobacco, and that figure may rise in some poor countries, the study authors said.

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 – As global leaders commit to stronger tobacco control, the African Tobacco Control Consortium (ATCC) joins the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) to congratulate governments for adopting the Political Declaration of the UN Summit on NCDs.

“We are very encouraged that the Political Declaration agreed today at the UN High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) commits governments to accelerated implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),” said Laurent Huber, FCA executive director. “This is recognition at the highest political level that the Convention needs more resources and stronger political will to be fully effective.”

Akinbode Oluwafemi, Director of the African Tobacco Control Regional Initiative said African governments must return home to fast-track the implementation of FCTC-compliant tobacco control measures in their respective countries. “Our governments need to enact and implement effective tobacco control laws. They need to raise taxes on tobacco products along with mass information campaigns about the lethal effects of tobacco” Akinbode added