As I stare at the smoke raising to the ceiling, I slowly move my focus to the person who has just exhaled it. He is bearly 20 years and it is not the first time he is taking a smoke, as a matter of fact he is a chain smoker. What will he become in the next ten years? Perhaps he will be a chimney or relic covered by six feet layer of soil. I am not wishing my friend an early death but he has earned it anyway.
Let
me break it down to make you understand what I mean. Imagine losing a loved one
after every six seconds. It can be your parents, children, or that person you
want to exchange vows with at the altar and live happily ever after. It sounds
impossible right? But that is the shocking reality when it comes to tobacco –linked
diseases.
According
to WHO almost 6 million people die from tobacco related diseases, this
translates to one person in every six seconds. That’s forecast to rise to more
than 8 million a year by 2030.
Disturbing
enough is that 80% of these preventable deaths occur among people living in
low-and middle income countries. This has been attributed to illegal tobacco
trade. The illicit dealing in tobacco has resulted to cheaper harmful products,
primarily by avoiding government taxes through smuggling, illegal manufacturing
and counterfeiting.
Cheaper
tobacco has encourages younger tobacco users (who generally have lower incomes)
and cuts government revenues, reducing the resources available for
socioeconomic development, especially in low-income countries that depend
heavily on consumption taxes. This money might otherwise be spent on the
provision of public services, including health care.
As
the world celebrates World No Tobacco Day WHO has urged member states to sign
the “Protocol to Eliminate the illicit Trade in Tobacco Products”.
“The
Protocol offers the world a unique legal instrument to counter and eventually
eliminate a sophisticated criminal activity,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO
Director-General. “Fully implemented, it will replenish government revenues and
allow more spending on health.”
The global adult
tobacco survey indicates that 19.1 per cent of men and 4.5 per cent of women
currently use tobacco in Kenya.
Overall, 41.3 per cent
of current smokers started using tobacco aged 20-24 while 32.3 per cent started
at age 17-19.
Health
ministry estimates that non-communicable diseases contribute nearly 50 per cent
of all admissions in public hospitals in Kenya.
So
far, 8 countries have ratified the Protocol, short of the target of 40 needed
for it to become international law.
However
the Protocol requires a wide range of measures relating to the tobacco supply
chain, including the licensing of imports, exports and manufacture of tobacco
products; the establishment of tracking and tracing systems and the imposition
of penal sanctions on those responsible for illicit trade. It would also
criminalise illicit production and cross border smuggling.
“The
Protocol faces overt and covert resistance from the tobacco industry,” says Dr
Vera da Costa e Silva, Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat. “Manufacturers know
that once implemented, it will become much harder to hook young people and the
poor into tobacco addiction.”
While
publicly stating its support for action against the illicit trade, the tobacco
industry’s behind closed doors behaviour has been very different. Internal
industry documents released as a result of court cases demonstrate that the
tobacco industry has actively fostered the illicit trade globally. It also
works to block implementation of tobacco control measures, like tax increases
and pictorial health warnings, by arguing they will fuel the illicit trade. This
has resulted to a bigger population that is hooked to tobacco usage and a rainy
season for the companies.
“Public
health is engaged in a pitched battle against a ruthless industry,” says Dr
Douglas Bettcher, Director of the WHO’s Department for the Prevention of
Noncommunicable Diseases. “On this World No Tobacco Day, WHO and its partners
are showing the ends that the tobacco industry goes to in the search for
profits, including on the black market, and by ensnaring new targets, including
young children, to expand its deadly trade.”
Policy
makers should recognize that the illicit tobacco trade exacerbates the global
health epidemic and has serious security implications. Ratification of the
Protocol to Eliminate the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is a necessary step
to combat these twin evils.
