By: Nyima Sillah
The Ministry of Health’s Non-Communicable Disease Unit has warned Café Touba vendors to desist from selling single cigarette sticks.
The NCD unit made this announcement on Wednesday during their briefing on the Tobacco control laws in The Gambia from October to December. The briefing was held at the Central Store in Kotu.
The activity is part of a one-year project from the Tobacco policy grant from Action Fund for Africa (ToPAFA) under the Management of Health Science (MSH) in reducing Tobacco through health promotion and Enforcement of Tobacco Control (TC) laws in The Gambia.
Speaking to member of journalists at the briefing Sainabou B. Cham, program officer NCD Unit, said the law says every person has right to a tobacco smoke-free environment but the person consuming it should ensure that he/she does not expose another person to tobacco smoke.
“Sales of single cigarette sticks is one of the biggest challenges we have right now. We know some shopkeepers are not selling single cigarette sticks to random people except their loyal customers, we also understand that people selling Café Touba are the most ones selling single cigarette sticks and that we want a total stop with immediate effect,” she noted.
She added that all forms of tobacco advertisement, promotion or sponsorship including cross-border are prohibited and as a result, a person shall not initiate any tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship.
“A person shall not import, manufacture, distribute, sell or offer for sale a tobacco product unless the unit packet, package of tobacco product or outside packaging and labeling of such product conforms to the packaging and labeling requirements prescribed by the Ministry. Text and pictures advertising health warning shall appear together and shall occupy no less than 75% of the packet display. All tobacco products should conform to the regulations,” she explained.
“When it comes to tobacco control there is no way we can move forward without the media, so engaging media is a continuous process because during the enforcement, we went to hotels and restaurants where we seized lots of Shishaa bottles but after few weeks they started again so our work with the media would never stop,” she assured.
According to her, the directorate will go for regional orientation meetings but most precisely with the PTA’s and mothers’ clubs and would also initiate multi-disciplinary teams including agriculture workers, extension workers and also public health officers.