Activities  came  high  in  countries  accross  Africa  as  tobacco  control  advocates  and  institutions  mark  this  year's  World  No  Tobacco  Day  in  different  countries  around  the  continent.

Global  smoking  rates  amongst  women  are  rising  as  the  tobacco  industry  increasingly  targets  females  through  its  marketing  campaigns,  according  to  the  World  Health  Organization  (WHO).

The  WHO  says  that  global  rates  of  smoking  amongst  men  have  peaked,  while  rates  amongst  women  are  rising.  Women  are  also  a  major  target  for  the  tobacco  industry,  which  needs  to  recruit  new  users  to  replace  smokers  who  will  die  prematurely  (almost  50  per  cent  of  current  users)  from  tobacco-related  diseases.

To  

The  Intergovernmental  Negotiating  Body  on  a  Protocol  on  Illicit  Trade  in  Tobacco  Products'  fourth  session  (INB-4)  ended  without  final  agreement,  but  Parties  did  make  some  significant  progress. Parties  agreed  important  provisions  to  control  the  supply  chain  for  tobacco  products,  including  a  tracking  and  tracing  system  for  cigarettes  and  other  products  as  well  as  a  licensing  system  for  manufacturers  and  others  involved  in  the  tobacco  trade.
The  talks’  outcomes  will  be  reported  to  the  next  Conference  of  Parties  to  the  parent  treaty  for  the  protocol,  the  Framework  Convention  on  Tobacco  Control,  in  Montevideo,  Uruguay  in  November  2010. Framework  Convention  Alliance  (FCA)  director  Laurent  

World  Health  Organisation  chief  Margaret  Chan  on  Friday  accused  "ruthless,  devious"  tobacco  companies  of  bullying  as  she  steps-up  commitments  against  continued  exploitation  of  developing  countries  by  the  tobacco  industry.

In  a  speech  marking  the  fifth  anniversary  of  an  international  convention  on  tobacco  control,  Chan  said  she  would  not  allow  the  tobacco  industry  to  take  part  in  talks  on  expanding  the  world's  first  public  health  treaty.  "Like  my  predecessors,  I  am  not  on  speaking  terms  with  the  tobacco  industry,  but  I  will  say  this:  we've  come  a  long  way,  bullies,"  she  said  at  WHO  headquarters  in  Geneva.

Also  a  presentation  by  Dr.  Mary  

Ghana  has  been  selected  to  host  the  second  working  group  meeting  on  World  Health  Organisation  (WHO)  Framework  Convention  on  Tobacco  Control  (FCTC)  in  April  this  year.

The  meeting  is  to,  among  other  things,  identify  and  develop  opportunities  for  practical  cooperation  with  competent  intergovernmental  and non-governmental  organisations  in  the  promotion  of  sustainable  alternatives  to  tobacco  growing.

It  is  also  to  help  achieve  the  FCTC's  objective  of  protecting  present  and  future  generations  from  the  devastating  health,  social,  environmental  and  economic  consequences  of  tobacco  consumption  and  exposure  to  smoking,  as well  as  the  reduction  of  demand  for  tobacco  products.

At  the  inauguration  of  a  nine-member  Local  Planning  Committee  

(Credit:  Voice  of  America)  This  is  a  special  report  by  the  Voice  of  America  on  Smoking  in  Africa.  Set  in  Zimbabwe  with  a  captivating  interview published on  their  website,  VOA  looks  at  the  business,  the  culture  and  the  rist  of  smoking  in  Africa.  Click   here   to   listen   to   the   Interview   on   VOA   website

While  cigarette  smoking  is  declining  in  the  United  States  and  much  of  the  industrialized  world,  it  is  growing  in  popularity  in  Africa.  Some  health  policy  experts  believe  the  two  phenomena  are  linked  and  add  that  cigarette  smoking  presents  a  growing  health  threat  to  Africans.  In  the  first  part  of  

February  9,  2010  Africa  Tobacco  Situational  Analysis  in  Uganda  began  on  a  high  beat.   About  47  participants  representing  diverse  experts  from  civil  society,  governmental  officials  like  the  Police,  Prison  Services,  ministry  of  eduaction  and  Sports, World  Health  Organization and  the  Media  converged  to  discuss  the  situation  of  Tobacco  Control  in  Uganda.

The  director  General  of  Health  Services  in  Uganda  ministry  of  Health,  Dr.  Sam  Zaramba  whose  speech  was  presented  by  Dr.  Sheila  Ndyanabangi,  also  a  director  of  Mental  Health  and  Substance  Abuse  expresed  the  need  to  form  a  stronger  alliance.   The  director  in  his  speech  was  strong  in  expressing  his  ministry’s  interest  in  

Today,  December  14th,  2009  in  an  impressive  turn-out  with  wide  representation,  over  35  stakeholders  in  Ethiopian  tobacco  control  community  gathered  in  Addis  Ababa  to  deliberate  effective  strategies  for  the  ratification  of   the  WHO-Framework  Convention  on  Tobacco  Control  among  other  tobacco  control  issues  in  the  country.

The  meeting  which  had  representation  from  Ethiopian  Parliament,  Ministry  of  Health,  Ethiopian  Revenue  and  Customs  Authority,  Ethiopian  Drug  Administration  and  Control  Authority,  World  Health  Organisation,  Framework  Convention  Alliance,  African  Tobacco  Control  Regional  Initiative,   Ethiopian  Public  Health  Association,  Addis  Ababa  University,  Members  of  the  Media  and  Ethiopian  Tobacco  Control  Community  focuses  on  collecting  reliable  data  that  will  

ATCRI  held  a  stakeholders  meeting  in  Cotonou,  the  capital  city  of  Benin  Republic,  on  December  3rd,  as  part  of  the  ongoing  Tobacco  Control  Situational  Analysis  (ATSA)  in  6  African  countries.  The  meeting  included  participants  and  representation  from  ATCA,  IDRC,  FCA,  OTAF,  Minister  of  Health,  key  national  tobacco  control  advocates,  journalists  and  policy  makers  in  the  country.  The  ATSA  project,  which  will  run  for  a  ten-month  period  is  aimed  at  collecting  reliable  data  that  will  reflect  the  true  picture  of  tobacco  control  issues  in  Togo,  Benin  Republic,  Mozambique,  Ethiopia,  Botswana  and  Uganda.  This  is  in  addition  to  existing  12  countries  where