Ghana to introduce pictorial health warning on cigarettes

Ghana would introduce pictorial health warnings on cigarette pack by the close of the year, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Leader of the Ghanaian delegation to the 2014 6th Session of Conference of Party (COP6), announced.

He said in 2013/2014 Ghana has strengthened its National Coordination Mechanism with improved reporting arrangement and in its roles and responsibilities.

Mr Chireh made this known when he read Ghana’s Report to the COP6 in Moscow, Russia on Tuesday.

Parliament on July 11, 2012 passed a Public Health (PH) Bill with presidential assent given on October 9, 2012 (PH Act- Act 851). Part 6 of the PH Act is Tobacco Control Measures and covers prohibition of smoking in public places, advertising in relation to tobacco and tobacco products.

The rest are tobacco sponsorship, promotion of tobacco and tobacco products, packaging and labelling, health warnings on package, minimum age restrictions, public education against tobacco use, treatment of tobacco addiction, sale of tobacco products and power of the authority to prosecute among others.

He said more work on Tobacco Legislative Instrument has been done, and extensive work is being carried out on Article 12, which involves training, communication and awareness creation among major schools, ministries and agencies.

“Ghana in November 2004 signed and ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and undertook Needs Assessment in 2010, we have made considerable progress in the implementation of the FCTC,” he said.

The National Coordinating Mechanism set up and drawn from various ministries, departments and agencies with full participation of civil society organisations has continued to guide and coordinate FCTC implementation.

Mr Yieleh Chireh said Ghana has a strong Coalition of NGOs that has reached out to agencies, communities, the youth and politicians, informing, educating and advocating in several fronts to speed up the attainment of the FCTC requirements.

Through administrative instructions, Ghana has banned tobacco promotion, sponsorship and advertising in various media outlets and on billboards and prohibited smoking in all second cycles of schools, health facilities and government offices.

All Cigarettes packs have 50 per cent text health warnings on the principal display areas and efforts are being made to introduce pictorial health warnings.

He said education, training, communication and public awareness is given a high priority in Ghana and the activities target regions with high tobacco use prevalence, schools and the youth.

Mr Chireh said as with other Parties in the ECOWAS region except the Gambia, the tax regime in Ghana is ad valorem at 150 per cent import duty, the highest in the sub-region, aimed to reduce consumption.