http://www.smokefreeghana.com Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:06:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Continental Tobacco Uganda Ltd offices in Arua have closed amid allegations that the company owes farmers at least Shs5 billion. According to Mr Caleb Kamure, a resident of Arua, "the money is payment for tobacco supplied by farmers in the two regions to the tobacco company from last year." He explained that last year, Continental offered high prices for tobacco as compared to its competitors, British American Tobacco and Leaf & Commodities (U) Ltd....]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2012/02/uganda-tobacco-company-dupes-farmers/ More and more young Cameroonian women are taking up smoking. But they are usually doing it out of the sight of their parents. Some in Cameroon society regard tobacco consumption as a sign of emancipation; others see it as a bad sign of the times. In Cameroon, men rarely accept the company of smoking women. Patrick, a 25 year-old student, even goes as far as calling them "bad girls". "When a girl has lived under parental supervision, it's very unlikely that she will become a smoker. A girl who smokes is a loose girl or one with bad friends," says Patrick....]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2012/02/smoking-a-growing-pastime-for-young-women/ My mother died not long ago of a totally preventable illness: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It is caused by smoking. It is a hideous disease that leaves in its wake the walking dead. COPD patients who cannot or will not quit smoking are like alcoholics. They can virtually taste the cigarette that they crave with every ounce of their being. As a health-care professional in a hospital, I see COPD patients who tell me that all they want is that cigarette. This winter, every time I saw a COPD patient gasping for breath it occurred to me that I was seeing my mother. I myself started smoking at the age of 28. Now, at the age of 58, I have been smokefree since the first Sunday in December. It is not easy, but I have the support of my children, my husband and my colleagues......]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2012/01/i-saw-my-mother-gasping-just-to-breathe-and-finally-i-quit-smoking/ Conference Programme We have planned a conference programme that sets the agenda for advancing the global tobacco control efforts. Throughout the Pre-conference (19 – 20 March 2012) and the Main Conference (20 – 24 March 2012) programmes, there will be exciting and interesting opportunities to: Build up our capacity through the sharing of best practices, experiences, knowledge, research and latest trends; Celebrate our successes; Renew our commitment to fight the global tobacco epidemic; and Connect with each other for future collaborations. Pre-conference (19-20 March 2012) You can get new skills and learn strategies on advocacy efforts; share and discuss issues; and develop friendships from global contacts through these highly interactive workshop and seminar sessions. ]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2012/01/announcing-the-world-conference-on-tobacco-or-health-2012-singapore/ http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2012/01/best-way-to-quit-smoking-simply-stop-smoking/ 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.”]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2011/12/nigeria-cpc-cautions-firm-over-sub-standard-cigarette/ http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2011/12/uganda-anti-tobacco-bill-tabled-in-parliament/ “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?’....... ]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2011/12/ugandaif-you-fear-aids-fear-tobacco-even-more/ 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....... ]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2011/12/usa-smoking-and-the-first-amendment/ 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......]]> http://www.smokefreeghana.com/2011/12/namibia-smoking-a-deadly-habit/