News flops Maharishi in the World Today

How We Present
the News







  
Experts fear Africa 'pandemic' from rise in smoking
by Kate Kelland

Reuters    Translate This Article
12 November 2009

LONDON (Reuters) - Africa faces a surge in cancer deaths unless action is taken in the next decade to stem rising smoking levels in a continent where anti-tobacco laws remain rare, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.

More than half the continent will double its tobacco use within 12 years if current trends continue, the American Cancer Society (ACS) said in a report which found that 90 percent of people living there have no protection from secondhand smoke.

Some African countries have introduced smoking bans but most have not, and smoke-free public areas are rare.

'For the first time in history, we have the tools in hand to prevent a pandemic,' Otis W. Brawley, the ACS's chief medical officer, said in a statement with the report, which was presented at a cancer conference in Tanzania.

'Smoke-free public places are one example of a low-cost and extremely effective intervention that must be implemented now to protect health.'

Many developed countries have tightened laws in recent years to make smoking unacceptable or illegal in public places such as bars, restaurants, offices and on public transport—as a way to protect non-smokers and to discourage the habit.

Secondhand smoke is known to cause cancer in adults and lung problems such as pneumonia in young children.

Over the past four decades, smoking rates have fallen in rich countries such as the United States, Britain and Japan, but have been rising in much of the developing world.

The ACS estimates that smoking will kill 6 million people worldwide in 2010 and 72 percent of those killed will be from low- and middle-income countries.

In a report published in August, it said that around 50 percent of men in developing countries smoke..

Within the last year, Kenya and Niger have brought in national smoke-free policies, the ACS report said, also noting that South Africa has had anti-smoking policies since March 2007 and has managed to cut smoking rates.

But the report listed many other countries which have not taken effective action, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria.

'In Abuja, Nigeria, for example, 55 percent of school students are not aware that secondhand smoke is harmful to health, and only 1 percent of Nigeria's population is protected by strong smoke-free laws,' the report said.

Twalib Ngoma, president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) which is hosting the conference, said smoking was increasing because 'the companies which used to target the West are now targeting countries like Tanzania.'

'Drive from the airport and you see a lot of billboards promoting cigarette smoking,' he told Reuters. 'There might be small warning signs, but that's not enough to stop addicts from smoking—and anyway a lot of people can't read.'

The ACS called for more African governments to introduce anti-smoking legislation, and said other measures like charging high taxes on cigarettes had 'significant potential' to cut smoking rates. 'Doubling the price of cigarettes by increasing the tax can lower consumption by fully 60 percent,' it said.

(Additional reporting by Katrina Manson in Dar es Salaam, editing by Robin Pomeroy/David Stamp)

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Reprinted with permission from Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere Logo are registered trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. For additional information about Reuters content and services, please visit Reuters website at www.reuters.com. License # REU-5918-MES

Global Good News comment:

For Maharishi's Vedic Approach to solving the problems of today's news, please visit:
http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com

For the good news about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York



Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:

(Google)
(Altavista babelfish)
health news more

World News | Genetic Engineering | Education | Business | Health News

Search | Global News | Agriculture and Environmental News | Business News
Culture News | Education News | Government News | Health News
Science and Technology News | World Peace | Maharishi Programmes
Press Conferences | Transcendental Meditation | Celebration Calendars | Gifts
News by Country | News in Pictures | What's New | Modem/High Speed | RSS/XML