A team of tobacco control experts who have been meeting to review the Tobacco control bill have agreed to set specific deadlines and targets on when the bill should be presented to parliament for the first reading. The two day meeting sponsored by CTCA was aimed at finalizing the draft bill and producing a version ready for presenting to the Ministry of Finance and consequently Parliament.
It was also specifically aimed at ensuring that all members of the Drafting team (Legal team of Parliament, Members of Parliament supporting the Bill, Ministry of Health officials, Partners and Civil Society have a common understanding and appreciation of the facts and principles that form the basis for the Tobacco control in Uganda.
By the end of the meeting, the participant had come up with a consensus on the specific clauses of the bill and the timing within which it should be presented.
The participants included the seconder of the motion, Hon. Bahati, Members of the Parliamentary Forum on NCDPs, the Parliamentary Legal team, officials from Ministry of Health, the Tobacco Control legal team, CSOS, CTCA and WHO.