Over the last two decades The Gambia has put together a good collection of laws that encourage tobacco control. It has enacted the Tobacco Control Act and issued the Tobacco Control Regulations. It has ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and developed of the National Tobacco Control Program Document.
But tobacco control in the country still faces various challenges. It isn’t prioritised and has not been getting enough resources. The tobacco control interventions are not well co-ordinated and there is very little data that can inform decision-making.
These all undermine efforts to successfully implement the WHO FCTC.
More than half of the men aged 45 to 49 smoke cigarettes while 31% of men between the ages of 15 and 49 smoke cigarettes. Studies show that there is an increase in the use of tobacco particularly among young people.
This is why The Gambia has needed a Tobacco Control Policy. The National Tobacco Control Policy is the formal commitment to control tobacco in a country. It’s a guide for action and provides a framework to coordinate of all the main actors and their activities.
The CTCA were critical in formulating the new TC Policy through technical support to the country. The policy is an update on the 2013-2018 TC Policy.
The TC Policy highlights the 14 policy statements and Tobacco Control Strategies that the country will undertake over the next five years until 2025.
The policy was validated in December 2020.
There are various benefits of the TC Policy being achieved. For one it will help The Gambia achieve UN SDG goal (3.4) and target (3A). It would lead to a reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use which in turn will lead to fewer tobacco related deaths and disability.
It could also influence resource mobilization by creating enabling environment for revenue generation through taxation.
Since TC activities are underfunded, this policy recommends a significant portion of the revenue generated through taxation to be ploughed back for TC interventions.
Overall, if the TC Policy is fully implemented, it will help save lives, increase both household and national economies, preserve the environment and help achieve development in The Gambia.