A PUBLIC HEALTH ACT AT LAST
The long awaited time has come. Finally, Ghana now has legislation in place to control the use of tobacco and its related products in the country. Thanks to the activism of civil society groups and individuals working in the health sector who ensured that the dream of Ghana having laws in place to check public smoking became a reality.
It has been a long fight straddling over eight years between the various arms of government that deals with health related issues, legislative drafting, Parliament, and organizations like the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), Media Alliance in Tobacco Control (MATCO), Coalition of NGOs in Health (CNH) and the Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control (CNTC) and sections of the general public and Ghana’s Tobacco Ambassador, Jeorge Kingson. Now Ghana has a law on tobacco use and therefore joins the increasing number of countries which are conforming to the provisions of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The Public Health Bill (PHB) which was recently pronounced passed by Parliament became necessary in view of the scattered nature of laws regulating public health in the country. There were health ordinances from the colonial era which needed reviews since they were no more responsive to contemporary health issues.
Issues as tobacco smoking, food and medicine legislation, patient’s rights, international public health law, communicable and non communicable diseases as well as environmental sanitation all forms part of the new law. It focuses on keeping people healthy and improving heath rather than on treating diseases and disorders of individuals. The law also recognizes factors that contribute to health in respect of housing, employment and more immediate risk factors like nutrition, smoking and inadequate physical activity.
A wide variety of international instruments and treaties ratified by Ghana provide for the right to health. Thus the right to health may be realized by ensuring that public health laws are up to date and effective, thereby securing a basic standard of health and safety for the population.
The new public health law is therefore objected to promote public health and well-being, strengthen the public health infrastructure, provide essential public health services and functions, identify roles and responsibilities of public health agencies and encourage communities to create and maintain a healthy environment.
It is also to support programmes and campaigns intended to improve public health, educate individuals about public health risks, provide for the early detection of diseases and other public hazards, respond effectively to public health emergencies, require regular reporting and accountability for public health agencies and provide fair and appropriate penalties for contravention of the provisions of the law.
The Public Health Act, a consolidation law is therefore seeking to bring together in one piece of legislation colonial enactments on infectious diseases, mosquitoes, quarantine, vaccination, public nuisance and modern enactments on tobacco and food medicines.
The tobacco control measures forms the sixth chapter of the Public Health Act which has about eight other chapters. The memorandum attached to the law states in part that smoking of tobacco is a greater cause of death and disability than any other disease although it is preventable. One in every two long-term smokers will ultimately dies as a result of tobacco use unless they quite the habit.
Research indicates that five million people die in a year and one hundred million people have died in this century as a result of tobacco related disease. It is estimated that about one billion people will die in this century unless a number of smokers quite the habit of smoking tobacco or tobacco products.
About 4000 chemical compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke. Of these, at least 250 are known to be cancer causing agents or otherwise toxic which causes diseases like lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema and is also linked to the high incidence and gravity of cardiac diseases. Tobacco use is therefore extremely injurious to the health of both smokers and non-smokers.
In Ghana tobacco use is rising steadily especially among the youth. A recent nationwide survey to determine smoking prevalence among school children aged between 12 and 18 years showed that about 14% have used tobacco before and five percent are currently smoking cigarettes.
Considering the extent of the harmful effect of smoking on health and culture of associating smoking with social success, business advancement and sporting process through advertisement, in 2004 the 192 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO), including Ghana, adopted the FCTC, which banned advertising and sponsorships by tobacco companies.
Ghana has since ratified the convention which enjoins the country to take administrative, legislative and any other means to curb the incidence of smoking and reduce the hazards associated with smoking. A national steering committee on tobacco was established to evaluate the incidence of tobacco smoking and make proposals to address the issue.
The committee in consultation with other major stakeholders made proposals which form the basis of the provisions on tobacco control in the law.
The long awaited time has come. Finally, Ghana now has legislation in place to control the use of tobacco and its related products in the country. Thanks to the activism of civil society groups and individuals working in the health sector who ensured that the dream of Ghana having laws in place to check public smoking became a reality.
It has been a long fight straddling over eight years between the various arms of government that deals with health related issues, legislative drafting, Parliament, and organizations like the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), Media Alliance in Tobacco Control (MATCO), Coalition of NGOs in Health (CNH) and the Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control (CNTC) and sections of the general public and Ghana’s Tobacco Ambassador, Jeorge Kingson. Now Ghana has a law on tobacco use and therefore joins the increasing number of countries which are conforming to the provisions of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The Public Health Bill (PHB) which was recently pronounced passed by Parliament became necessary in view of the scattered nature of laws regulating public health in the country. There were health ordinances from the colonial era which needed reviews since they were no more responsive to contemporary health issues.
Issues as tobacco smoking, food and medicine legislation, patient’s rights, international public health law, communicable and non communicable diseases as well as environmental sanitation all forms part of the new law. It focuses on keeping people healthy and improving heath rather than on treating diseases and disorders of individuals. The law also recognizes factors that contribute to health in respect of housing, employment and more immediate risk factors like nutrition, smoking and inadequate physical activity.
A wide variety of international instruments and treaties ratified by Ghana provide for the right to health. Thus the right to health may be realized by ensuring that public health laws are up to date and effective, thereby securing a basic standard of health and safety for the population.
The new public health law is therefore objected to promote public health and well-being, strengthen the public health infrastructure, provide essential public health services and functions, identify roles and responsibilities of public health agencies and encourage communities to create and maintain a healthy environment.
It is also to support programmes and campaigns intended to improve public health, educate individuals about public health risks, provide for the early detection of diseases and other public hazards, respond effectively to public health emergencies, require regular reporting and accountability for public health agencies and provide fair and appropriate penalties for contravention of the provisions of the law.
The Public Health Act, a consolidation law is therefore seeking to bring together in one piece of legislation colonial enactments on infectious diseases, mosquitoes, quarantine, vaccination, public nuisance and modern enactments on tobacco and food medicines.
The tobacco control measures forms the sixth chapter of the Public Health Act which has about eight other chapters. The memorandum attached to the law states in part that smoking of tobacco is a greater cause of death and disability than any other disease although it is preventable. One in every two long-term smokers will ultimately dies as a result of tobacco use unless they quite the habit.
Research indicates that five million people die in a year and one hundred million people have died in this century as a result of tobacco related disease. It is estimated that about one billion people will die in this century unless a number of smokers quite the habit of smoking tobacco or tobacco products.
About 4000 chemical compounds have been identified in tobacco smoke. Of these, at least 250 are known to be cancer causing agents or otherwise toxic which causes diseases like lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema and is also linked to the high incidence and gravity of cardiac diseases. Tobacco use is therefore extremely injurious to the health of both smokers and non-smokers.
In Ghana tobacco use is rising steadily especially among the youth. A recent nationwide survey to determine smoking prevalence among school children aged between 12 and 18 years showed that about 14% have used tobacco before and five percent are currently smoking cigarettes.
Considering the extent of the harmful effect of smoking on health and culture of associating smoking with social success, business advancement and sporting process through advertisement, in 2004 the 192 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO), including Ghana, adopted the FCTC, which banned advertising and sponsorships by tobacco companies.
Ghana has since ratified the convention which enjoins the country to take administrative, legislative and any other means to curb the incidence of smoking and reduce the hazards associated with smoking. A national steering committee on tobacco was established to evaluate the incidence of tobacco smoking and make proposals to address the issue.
The committee in consultation with other major stakeholders made proposals which form the basis of the provisions on tobacco control in the law.
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