NIGERIA: CPC Cautions Firm Over Sub-Standard Cigarette

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has drawn the attention of Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (Nig.) Limited to the circulation of a sub-standard cigarette, Peterfield Special Menthol Cigarette, believed to be its product circulating in Nigerian markets, a statement signed by the Deputy Director (Public Relations), CPC, Abiodun Obimuyiwa, has said. CPC, in a letter to the managing director of the company, alleged that the cigarette currently circulating in the country has failed labelling requirements, making it to be suspect for consumption by consumers. According to the letter, “Samples of the said cigarette, which supposedly belongs to your company, show among others, that the pack has no best before dates, there is no number on the NIS logo, which indicates non- certification of the product and the address on the pack is not the same as the factory address.”

UGANDA: Anti-tobacco Bill tabled in Parliament

Parliament yesterday okayed the tabling of the Tobacco Control Bill, 2011, which seeks to control tobacco use and protect Ugandans from the detrimental effects of the plant. The Private Members Bill, tabled by Chris Baryomunsi (Kinkiizi East), and seconded by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, seeks to regulate the manufacturing, selling, advertising, distribution, promotion, and consumption of tobacco products in Uganda.

UGANDA:If you fear AIDS, fear tobacco even more

“The tobacco diseases epidemic is already with us in Africa,” says Prof Peter Odhiambo, chairman of the Kenya Tobacco Control Board. “I treat the victims of tobacco everyday.” Prof Odhiambo was speaking at Kampala Serena hotel on November 1, 2011, at a public lecture titled, ‘The Journey from the Farm to the Lungs: Who gains from Tobacco in Africa?’.......

USA: Smoking and the First Amendment

On June 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law.1 For the first time, Congress had given the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to directly regulate tobacco products, with the aim of improving public health. And indeed, effective tobacco control would be a remarkable public health achievement — and might be possible if the law is allowed to stand. But on November 7, 2011, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction blocking some of its key provisions as unconstitutional restrictions on commercial speech, and the battle seems likely to end up in the Supreme Court.......

NAMIBIA: Smoking, A Deadly Habit

Almost everyone who smokes has uttered these words if not a few times, then at least once - "I would like to stop but I just can't, it is just so difficult and I have tried so many times but I just can't." Others in denial have even gone as far as saying "Well, I am not addicted, I can stop any time I want," reports Namibian Press Agency (Nampa). The fact is that they are lying to themselves. What many, if not all, smokers don't even realise is that smoking is just as addictive as 'hard drugs' such as cocaine and heroine amongst others, and that is why it is not easy to 'just quit' smoking. Some people take years to finally overcome the habit......