Kampala- Tuesday July 28, 2015 :
Time Check is 13: 44 in Uganda’s Parliament on a cool Tuesday afternoon, and Speaker Jacob Oulanyah is presiding over the House that started debate at 10:00 am. The Speaker asks for those in favor of the motion to pass the TC Bill, and the House overwhelmingly voted for passing the Bill into law, or in Parliamentary language- the Ayess got it!
Finally, the Uganda Tobacco Control Bill 2014 has been passed into law, awaiting to be assented to by the President. The Bill that has been passed with amendments was first presented in Parliament in March 2014 by Hon. Chris Baryomunsi as a Private Member’s Bill and was referred to the Committee on Health for further scrutiny and consultations with stakeholders.
On July 14, the bill was presented again to the House for the 2nd reading, by a new mover, Hon. Rosemary Nyakikongoro, who assumed lead after the original mover, Hon. Chris Baryomunsi, was appointed Minister of Health for General duties. After the presentation of the Bill for the 2nd reading, the House constituted itself into a committee to comprehensively debate the report of the Health Committee.
The passing of the Tobacco Control Bill into law today comes after a prolonged debate in Parliament for the last two weeks. During the debate on the Bill, the Speaker, on two occasions, asked the Mover of the Bill and all the interested Legislators to consult and harmonize their positions on the Bill. It is this back and forth consultative process that has eventually resulted into a comprehensive bill that was finally presented for the 3rd reading.
Some of the key milestones for the Bill include:
•100 percent smoke free environments – Smoking is not permitted within 50 meters from a public place;
•Complete ban on display of cigarettes at the point of sale
• Complete ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship
•No sale of cigarettes in public places like cinemas, educational institutions, public transport, health facilities, among others
•No sale of cigarettes to and by minors, where a minor is anyone below the age of 21 years.
•No sale of duty free tobacco products
•The sale of Shisha, electronic cigarettes, and chewable tobacco has been banned
•Wide ranging incorporation of Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC completely safeguarding public health from interference by the Tobacco Industry
•An elaborate mechanism with authorized powers to enforcement officers to seize, confiscate, destroy as may be deemed necessary.
•65% Pictorial Health Warnings- requiring 65% of every tobacco packaging to have a pictorial Health Warning
The passing of the TC bill into law has been made possible by concerted efforts of both local and global partners as well as champions within Parliament. The Tobacco Control Coordination Mechanism played a crucial role in ensuring that all TC Partners made useful contributions as per their areas of specialization.