Ghana new law bans smoking in public places, tobacco ads
Ghana's Parliament has passed a law banning smoking in public places such as restaurants, pubs, after nearly seven years of intense lobbying and agitation.
The new Tobacco Control Law says smoking in public places, tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are illegal.
“Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general,” says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United Atlanta.
Cigarette smoking is said to account for a large number of deaths from cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease as well as other health risks. Scientific studies have shown that second-hand smoking/passive smoking—ie inhaling smoke from an active smoker puts nonsmoker nearby at serious health risk.
Another study says smoking “causes an estimated 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women.”
The law against smoking in public places, advertising and promotion of tobacco would not come into effect immediately in Ghana, as the country’s constitution requires that before a law comes into effect, it must be approved by the President.
As WADR’s Accra Correspondent Kofi Agyepong reports, the new anti smoking law also prohibits young people under age 21 from buying and selling tobacco products.
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