Tobacco Control Consortium has commended the Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo for her unwavering determination in pushing for the enactment of the tobacco control bill.
A recent joint policy brief by UNDP, the secretariat of the WHO FCTC, WHO and the Zambia Ministry of Health emphases the need to strengthened tobacco control efforts to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Experts highlighted the significant potential of prioritizing Tobacco Control to propel Zambia towards its vision 2030 agenda of becoming a prosperous middle-income country.
Further, according to the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, Zambia has experienced a high level of interference from the tobacco industry in both 2020 and 2021 surpassing many other African Countries. And
However, the delay in passing the bill into law would mean choosing death and destruction for Zambians and their environment.
The Tobacco Control Consortium observed that the interference and undue influence by the Tobacco industry has caused significant unnecessary delays in implementing the WHO FCTC in the country.
Recently, Tobacco Board of Zambia Chairperson Phil Daka when he appeared on one of the radio station in Lusaka, admitted that the passing of the Tobacco Control Bill into law is important for the country, but the tobacco industry feels that the engagement has not been inclusive saying some stakeholders have not been widely consulted.
“The novel products such as e-cigarettes, vaping or shisha are everywhere even in eating places and these products are dangerous to health because there is a percentage of nicotine in there and we want the law that will regulate these conventional products” said Daka.
He says there is need for a balanced approach to accelerate the passing of the bill into law and ensure that there is an empirical evidence to the statistics regarding the death associated with the harms of tobacco by the researchers because he does not agree that indeed more than 7000 people die annually to the harms of tobacco.
Mr. Daka said he is aware that the bill was fought left, right and center and taken back but stressed that they will fight for anything that will impede the industry to compete favorably. He further agrees with the report that Zambia has experienced a high level of interference from the tobacco industry in both 2020 and 2021 surpassing many other African Countries according to Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control.
Meanwhile, Africa Tobacco Control Youth Ambassador Given Kapolyo has condemned the deceptive tactics employed by the tobacco industry as they make desperate attempts to undermine the Tobacco Control Bill.
Kapolyo said it is disturbing to see that they have organized a meeting with selected committees of parliamentarians under the guise of engagement and awareness.
She has observed that the meeting conveniently scheduled during the decisive final stages of the bills journey to parliament raises suspicion.
Ms. Kapolyo has called on the executive and the speaker to take note of the blatant interference and question why the tobacco Industry feels the need engage with parliamentarians outside the confines of parliament at this vital stage.
She noted the tobacco industry’s misleading claims are aimed at creating fear and confusion among the public. “The tobacco industry’s tactics involve discrediting established scientific evidence engaging in political and legislative manipulation, intimidating governments through litigation or mere threat of it” Kapolyo said.