Smoking Restrictions And Tobacco Legislation In Africa
President Yoweri Museveni affirmed that in Uganda there is one Tobacco Company that provides almost one-sixteenth of Uganda's total tax revenue and offers different jobs to more than half million people in a country that needs so much any kinds of jobs. The company is helping the children that are infected with AIDS and the victims that have suffered from the war.
In Uganda there is an antismoking activist and a well known lawyer, Phillip Karugaba. He has another opinion about the tobacco company. He affirms that if there were 1,000 B.A.T.'s there would be no more population in Africa. He is a person that tries to help Africa follow the same rules like the entire world regarding smoking. B.A.T. is such a powerful and big company that is not considered to be a monster, but this is only for a while, he said.
British American Tobaccois located in London but of course it has subsidiaries in Africa and in countries from all over the world. Smoking in Africa is still allowed on a lot of domestic airlines. In restaurants and bars where people are smoking too. There are a few hospitals that allow smoking a cigarette if they want. In Africa smoking is less controlled than in other countries. South Africa, with sub-Saharan Africa's is very strong in economy in comparison with Uganda which is far behind and it relies on the foreign economical assistance.
Because in many African countries is a lack of tobacco legislation, these countries are a target for a lot of tobacco companies. British American Tobacco is the second biggest cigarette manufacturer after Philip Morris. Many companies that have their tobacco business in Africa have tried everything possible to maintain Africa a smoking zone. But even though they have tried so hard to do this, smoking bans appear in that part of the world, slowly but surely.
Mr. Karugaba's ordered the country's National Environmental Management Authority to make smoking restrictions in public places; these bans have to be enforced within a year. B.A.T asked if they could participate at the first meeting but they were not allowed to do that.
Anti tobacco advocates affirm that the only goal that Tobacco Companies have is how to regulate the tobacco market. In Uganda started to put warning labels about how dangerous is smoking on the cigarette packs.
Mr. Karugaba is trying to find a court order that would make these smoking restrictions more severe and maximize the purpose of the warnings. On the warning labels there was written: ''Ministry of Health warning: Cigarette smoking can be harmful to your health.''
In the late 1980’s British American Tobacco said to the policy makers that they don’t believe that cigarette is harmful. In 1988 the British American Tobacco has wrote to the Ugandan government that the message from the warning labels should be not so strong. But from that time the company has realized the bad health effects that are caused by smoking. Mr. Karugaba is demanding clear messages about what smoking cigarettes could lead to. The antismoking movement in Africa has advanced in the last years; lawsuits where individual smokers are implicated are something usual.
Because the company was worried about its business and image it has started a public relation campaign. Uganda has its own Monitor, an independent newspaper that leads the population to discussions about smoking.
But in the same time Moses Ali, who is the minister of industry, trade and tourism has invited the population to smoke like it is something related to patriotism. He also said that no one is forced to smoke cigarettes, but if there is someone that would like to do this, he is welcome, because the state will get taxes from them.
The most known cheerleader of all B.A.T. was Mr. Museveni, and he said that the tobacco company is the best things that ever happened to a country that is so destitute. Mr. Museveni advised everyone to smoke but not to inhale the smoke, because it causes cancer. And he also said that Europeans have cancer problems because they inhale the smoke, His father has smoked for 70 years but stayed alive by not inhaling the smoke from the cigarettes. But in Africa there are bigger health problems than the tobacco usage: for example AIDS, malaria and others.
In Uganda there is an antismoking activist and a well known lawyer, Phillip Karugaba. He has another opinion about the tobacco company. He affirms that if there were 1,000 B.A.T.'s there would be no more population in Africa. He is a person that tries to help Africa follow the same rules like the entire world regarding smoking. B.A.T. is such a powerful and big company that is not considered to be a monster, but this is only for a while, he said.
British American Tobaccois located in London but of course it has subsidiaries in Africa and in countries from all over the world. Smoking in Africa is still allowed on a lot of domestic airlines. In restaurants and bars where people are smoking too. There are a few hospitals that allow smoking a cigarette if they want. In Africa smoking is less controlled than in other countries. South Africa, with sub-Saharan Africa's is very strong in economy in comparison with Uganda which is far behind and it relies on the foreign economical assistance.
Because in many African countries is a lack of tobacco legislation, these countries are a target for a lot of tobacco companies. British American Tobacco is the second biggest cigarette manufacturer after Philip Morris. Many companies that have their tobacco business in Africa have tried everything possible to maintain Africa a smoking zone. But even though they have tried so hard to do this, smoking bans appear in that part of the world, slowly but surely.
Mr. Karugaba's ordered the country's National Environmental Management Authority to make smoking restrictions in public places; these bans have to be enforced within a year. B.A.T asked if they could participate at the first meeting but they were not allowed to do that.
Anti tobacco advocates affirm that the only goal that Tobacco Companies have is how to regulate the tobacco market. In Uganda started to put warning labels about how dangerous is smoking on the cigarette packs.
Mr. Karugaba is trying to find a court order that would make these smoking restrictions more severe and maximize the purpose of the warnings. On the warning labels there was written: ''Ministry of Health warning: Cigarette smoking can be harmful to your health.''
In the late 1980’s British American Tobacco said to the policy makers that they don’t believe that cigarette is harmful. In 1988 the British American Tobacco has wrote to the Ugandan government that the message from the warning labels should be not so strong. But from that time the company has realized the bad health effects that are caused by smoking. Mr. Karugaba is demanding clear messages about what smoking cigarettes could lead to. The antismoking movement in Africa has advanced in the last years; lawsuits where individual smokers are implicated are something usual.
Because the company was worried about its business and image it has started a public relation campaign. Uganda has its own Monitor, an independent newspaper that leads the population to discussions about smoking.
But in the same time Moses Ali, who is the minister of industry, trade and tourism has invited the population to smoke like it is something related to patriotism. He also said that no one is forced to smoke cigarettes, but if there is someone that would like to do this, he is welcome, because the state will get taxes from them.
The most known cheerleader of all B.A.T. was Mr. Museveni, and he said that the tobacco company is the best things that ever happened to a country that is so destitute. Mr. Museveni advised everyone to smoke but not to inhale the smoke, because it causes cancer. And he also said that Europeans have cancer problems because they inhale the smoke, His father has smoked for 70 years but stayed alive by not inhaling the smoke from the cigarettes. But in Africa there are bigger health problems than the tobacco usage: for example AIDS, malaria and others.
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