Smoking bans around the world

World smoking bans

It's believed that Africa is heading for a smoking epidemic despite a ban on smoking in public which came into effect in 2007. The law states that people can only smoke in designated zones, but despite this the addiction continues to grow.

Dr Twalib Ngoma, president of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), says that Africa is on the brink of a smoking epidemic.

"Africa is in the area of the pre-epidemic and so we should prevent the epidemic," he told the BBC World Service.

"We should not wait until there is an epidemic and then work on it. We should prevent the epidemic."

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International cancer conference

Tobacco-related cancer was one of the key topics discussed at a recent international cancer conference in Tanzania.

One of the reports presented there warns that African nations are set to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries.

The report, released jointly by the American Cancer Society and the Global Smokefree Partnership, says that more than half of African countries will double tobacco use within 12 years if current trends continue.

Preventing

As in a lot of countries, steps are being taken to prevent a smoking epidemic.

Dr Otis W Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, says "Smoke-free public places are one example of a low-cost and extremely effective intervention that must be implemented now to protect health."

As well as Kenya, Niger also recently introduced a smoking ban in public places.

Mauritius also recently passed a law that the American Cancer Society says is close to meeting the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) standards, ranking the laws among the most robust anti-smoking measures in the world.

But the report says that many other countries have not taken any action.

For some countries, introducing a smoking ban would face too much popular opposition.

In Egypt, a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, gives wives the right to divorce their smoking husbands if the smoke affects their health, there are no laws about smoking in public places yet.

Since around half of the population indulge in cigarettes or water-pipes, such a measure would prove extremely unpopular.

The world

At a time when smoking is at the forefront of some people's minds, Executive Healthcare Management takes a look at smoking around the world. It looks at issues such as where in the world has laws against smoking and the numbers of deaths related to smoking.

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