Legislators in Gambia have committed to passing a comprehensive tobacco control law compliant with the provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The legislators, led by the Speaker of the Gambia National Assembly, Hon. Abdoulie Bojang revealed that a number of them have been victims of the devastating effects of tobacco use having been smokers, and would therefore want to pass a law that will minimize such effects on both the current and future generations. This was during a session on the tobacco control bill that was held at the National Assembly by both CTCA and the WHO to orient the legislators on the bill that is due to be tabled in parliament. The bill, that is ready for tabling in parliament, awaits the endorsement of cabinet. The legislators assured both CTCA and WHO that the Bill will not meet any resistance the moment it is brought to the floor of Parliament.
Hon. Abdoulie, a former smoker himself, said he and many of his colleagues in parliament have been able to quit smoking having been sensitized about the dangers of tobacco and witnessed its negative effects on their personal health as well as performance as leaders. He said the fact that over twenty members of the National Assembly have chosen to quit tobacco is a strong indication of their support for tobacco control adding that as leaders, they are committed to fighting tobacco use. A number of the legislators shared touching testimonies of how they have been able to quit smoking, and thanked the Ministry of Health and Social Well Fare for supporting them with the necessary information.
The representative from WHO Afro, Dr. William Maina hailed the political will and support from the National Assembly, adding that with that kind of patronage, Gambia will soon become a case study for effective public health policies.
The CTCA Acting Manager, Ms. Jennifer Kalule-Musamba reiterated the Centre’s commitment to supporting the legal process in Gambia and ensuring that Gambia implements the evidence based tobacco control interventions. Earlier, CTCA, together with the Ministry of Health and Social Well Fare had trained a team of over twenty journalists to equip them with knowledge and skills for effective tobacco control media coverage to especially during the process of debating the bill in the National Assembly. Members of the Media Fraternity also pledged allegiance to the tobacco control cause with a commitment to create awareness of the dangers of tobacco to the public and cover the process in parliament comprehensively.
According to a 2004 WHO study, tobacco use accounts for 5% of all deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Gambia. In terms of prevalence, 31.3% of adult males and 1% of adult females are current smokers. This is according to a WHO Stepwise Survey undertaken by WHO in 2010.
Another survey carried out among the youth under the Global Youth Tobacco Survey indicates that 24.5% of children aged between 13 – 15 years old ever smoked cigarettes.