The Foundation for Consumer Freedom and Advancement (FCFA) and the Institute of Liberty, Policy and Innovation (ILAPI) has called on stakeholders in the health sector and policymakers to consciously develop an educative medium-long term gradual approach to reducing tobacco use rather than a short-term radical approach of denying consumers the right to make choices.
They have encouraged regulatory agencies, tobacco controllers and public health institutions to embrace tobacco harm reduction as part of tobacco control strategies than impose huge taxes on the material.
This follows an assessment conducted by the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), the Secretariat of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) (Convention Secretariat), WHO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has revealed that more than 800,000 Ghanaians continue to smoke and every year, tobacco use kills more than 6,700 Ghanaians, with 66 percent of these deaths being premature, among people under the age of 70.
These statistics denotes many more Ghanaians are not able to quit tobacco or smoking, in general, irrespective of the rehabilitation and restrictive laws eschewing people from smoking.
Addressing a press conference in Tema, Executive Director of ILAPI, Peter Bismark Kwofie called for the adoption of a harm reduction strategies as an effective public health solution since absolutely quitting the habit of smoking has been quite unsustainable, repressive, and draconian.
He urged health workers, social workers and other relevant stakeholders, and policymakers to consider other alternatives which will be less costly to address the consumer choice addiction rate of tobacco.
“In this context, it is crucial to explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) and weigh them against the well-established harmfulness of tobacco use to develop effective strategies for reducing tobacco consumption in Ghana,” he stressed.
The Executive Director believes that THR as a public solution recognizes the harm caused by combustible cigarettes and the aims to minimize the health impacts of cigarette smoking by encouraging the smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to scientifically substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives which are being explored in our contemporary society.
Mr. Kwofie called on the State to invest in empirically proven techniques as an alternative way to reduce harm and death caused by Tobacco whilst not curtailing consumer choice.
“The inhumane and unscientific “Quit or Die” policy should not be reinforced. Instead of putting vipers and consumers at risk, this is a very good opportunity to raise awareness about THR in general, and encourage smokers who cannot quit smoking to adopt it”, according to him.
The Executive Director of ILAPI disagrees with the school of thought that increasing taxes on tobacco products and banning THR products are the best initiatives to prevent people from smoking, saying that anytime taxes (excise and consumption taxes) on products are high, the rich could buy and the middle-income and poor would engage in smuggling adding to the cost of fighting illicit transactions on tobacco.
“High taxes on tobacco products as means of cessation is not public health solution to address the menace,” he added.
He mentioned that countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, and Norway have successfully implemented THR approaches and Ghana can learn from their policies and frameworks to tailor its policies on tobacco control to the unique needs of its population.
“As a consequence, Sweden has by far the lowest rates of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in the European Union. Their smoking rates have declined to a level that they are on their way to officially becoming the first smoke-free country in the world. When Norway made the products more broadly accessible, cigarette consumption dropped by half in ten years,” Mr. Kwofie added.
He continued that “For decades, Ghana has tried to curb smoking through packaging education and taxation with limited success. Reductions in smoking prevalence had generally slowed; with modest annual declines but a lot more can be achieved.
“In response to the opportunities that can be provided through Tobacco Harm Reduction, the Ghanaian government should establish a regulatory framework that enables and facilitates access to THR products, support public education campaigns to raise awareness about the benefits of THR, increase the availability of THR products across the country, establish Nicotine Replacement Therapy programmes, collaborate with private sector stakeholders, and conduct research and monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness of THR policies and frameworks.
“The positive results of embracing tobacco harm reduction are clear. Reductions to smoking prevalence in Ghana could be accelerated through balanced policy and clear messaging to smokers.”
By Vincent Kubi