GHANA NEEDS TOBACCO FREE YOUTH - says GHS Director-General

May 30, 2008

The Director-General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory has called for a concerted effort to pass the Tobacco Bill to ensure the health and safety of the nation's youth.

According to him, the long-overdue bill would give legal backing to moves by the GHS and the gneral public to stop tobacco use and smoking particularly among the youth.

He said this in Accra Friday at the country's launch of 2008 World Tobacco Day on the theme "Tobacco Free Youth".

This year's campain focuses on the main mesage that countries can protect young people from experimenting and become regular tobacco users. The objective is to ban all forms of direct and indirect tobacco advertising, including promotion of tobacco products and sponsoships by the tobacco indusy of events.

In Ghana, facts from the Global Youth Tobaco Survey indicates a prevalence rate of 11.5 percent of students ever smoking cigaretes, 14.4 percent currently use any tobacco product, and 4.0 % currently smoke cigarretes. While 12.5 % of students curently use tobacco products other than cigarettes, 14.6 % of never smokers are likely to initiate smoking next year.

Dr. Sory advised the youth and students to use their energy and creativity to motivate their peers and others to support antti-tobacco measures in the country.

For her part, the deputy health minister, Dr. (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashitey urged the media to focus on the harmful effects of tobacco as their contribution to the fight against the tobacco epidermic.

Additionally, she appealed to filmmakers and event organisers not to allow tobacco companies to get the youth hooked through their productions.

Credit: Anextra Agency News




UNCTAD XII IN GHANA

Posted April 2008
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UN SEC-GEN IN GROUP PIX WITH GHANA MPs AT UNCTAD XII: On the right is speaker of Ghana Parliament, Hon. Ebenzer Sakyi-Hughes