Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New York, USA) –– World Lung Foundation (WLF) today called upon governments and civil society in Africa to take urgent action to prevent an impending tobacco epidemic on the continent. This call coincides with the launch of the Africa Tobacco Report from the American Cancer Society. The report states that without the implementation and enforcement of new tobacco control policies, the number of adult smokers in Africa will increase from 77 million to 572 million by 2100.
The report finds that the use of graphic images on cigarette packs to warn people about tobacco’s harms can increase the cessation rate by 23 percent, an intervention that costs governments and advocates virtually nothing. It also notes that:
• Among both boys and girls, smoking prevalence in Africa is 9 percent and 3 percent, respectively. This is higher than in other developing regions, and appears to be rising.
• Between 2012 and 2020 the implementation and enforcement of evidence based policies to reduce tobacco use in Africa can reduce the number of smokers by 37 million; by 2100 an estimated 277 million fewer smokers would live on the continent.
• Prevention is cheaper than dealing with a fully developed epidemic, so tobacco control will become more cost-effective over time providing an even higher return on the investment.
Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer, World Lung Foundation, commented: “Many Africans are enjoying greater economic prosperity and longer life expectancy, so it is a cruel irony that the tobacco industry intends to use those two successes to bolster its own profits. Without strong tobacco control, the inevitable outcome will be an increased burden of death and disease, which could reverse the great progress that has been made.”
”Smokers in Africa are more motivated to quit when they understand the impact on their own health and on the health of others. For example, calls to Senegal’s national tobacco quit line surged 588 percent after an anti-tobacco ad campaign aired. Among people who had been exposed to the campaign, 93 per cent of smokers said they had learned not to expose others to tobacco smoke. Implementing proven tobacco control measures will help to prevent the impending tobacco epidemic in Africa and would send a clear message to Big Tobacco.”
In 2008, WHO identified six evidence-based tobacco control measures that are the most effective in reducing tobacco use. Known as “MPOWER”, these measures correspond to one or more of the demand reduction provisions included in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC):
• Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
• Protect people from tobacco smoke, Offer help to quit tobacco use
• Warn people about the dangers of tobacco
• Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
• Raise taxes on tobacco.
MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.
Further information on the Africa Tobacco Report is available at www.global.cancer.org.