Africa loses US$10.7B yearly due to tobacco - Gassama

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Author: Ousman G Darboe


Momodou Gassama, Health Promotion Officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO) The Gambia office revealed that Africa loses US$10.7 billion yearly as a result of tobacco use.


Gassama was speaking today at the orientation for journalists on the Tobacco Act 2016. The event which took place at the NAQAA conference hall, brought together journalists from different media organisations to discuss ways of fighting the use of tobacco.


Mr. Gassama reiterated that tobacco causes a huge economic loss to the continent while stressing that there are no gains from tobacco use.


Gassama stated: "Gambia is releasing 80 billion tons of carbon dioxide due to the use of tobacco, which is detrimental to the environment and is a contributing factor to global warming."



He urged journalists to strengthen their efforts in sensitising the masses about the dangers of tobacco and tobacco-related diseases, saying there is no safe level of smoking.


Muhammed S Bah, President of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), also explained the importance of sensitising the masses about the dangers of tobacco and its related diseases while highlighting the efforts of RAID Gambia in their advocacy work in combating the use of tobacco.


Mr Bah suggested that the government should give more financial assistance to RAID Gambia from the taxes collected through tobacco importation and sales. He added that this will help RAID Gambia to ease some of the challenges they face in carrying out their fight against the use of Tobacco.


He also encouraged journalists to be writing and reporting more on the Tobacco Control Act and the dangers of using tobacco.

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