Within the coronary heart of Kampala, an 18-year-old college woman is invited by a good friend to a home social gathering. Whereas Shisha and e-cigarettes are banned by regulation, their availability at such younger individuals’s features is frequent.
The flavours are diversified, with interesting scents starting from strawberries, apple, and watermelons, you title it. What the younger college woman doesn’t know is that behind the “candy and interesting” flavours lies nicotine, a extremely addictive and harmful substance. As soon as hooked on these merchandise, it turns into tough to cease, which might result in critical well being issues.
Tobacco harms almost each organ of the physique, causes over 20 varieties of most cancers, and kills as much as half of the customers who don’t stop. All she thinks is, it is a cool social gathering. That is the hidden hazard our youth face at the moment.
Based on the World Grownup Tobacco Survey Nation Report, 13,000 individuals in Uganda die yearly on account of tobacco. Publicity to secondhand smoke is rampant amongst youngsters with 19.7% (over 1.7 million) being uncovered to tobacco smoke at dwelling and 30% (2.7 million) uncovered in enclosed public locations. Regardless of a decline in tobacco use over time, 6.7% of Ugandans, (1.6 million individuals) aged 15 and above, nonetheless use tobacco merchandise. Whereas it is a discount from 9.7% in 2014, the nation nonetheless has an extended solution to go in defending its inhabitants from tobacco-related ailments, particularly youngsters and younger individuals.
Furthermore, new and rising tobacco merchandise are growing on the Ugandan market, regardless of being banned by the Tobacco Management Act of 2015 therefore the necessity to strengthen the enforcement of the regulation.
Sadly, these rising tobacco merchandise goal our kids via flavoured merchandise, flashy packaging, and aggressive on-line advertising campaigns. This yr’s World No Tobacco Day theme, “Unmasking the Enchantment”, exposes the misleading methods tobacco and nicotine industries use to hook the subsequent technology.
Uganda took a daring step in 2015 with the enactment of the Tobacco Management Act, one of many strongest legal guidelines in Africa. The Act prohibits the import, manufacture, distribution, processing, sale, supply on the market, or bringing into the nation of digital nicotine supply methods, waterpipe tobacco supply methods, smokeless or flavoured tobacco merchandise. Based on the World Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) Uganda, over 17% of adolescents aged 13–15 have tried tobacco-related merchandise, significantly flavored or smokeless variants. E-cigarettes, shisha, Kuber, and nicotine pouches are infiltrating our faculties, hostels, and communities.
We should be clear: these merchandise are neither innocent nor modern. They include addictive nicotine and poisonous chemical compounds that injury the creating mind, impair reminiscence and studying. Flavours, that are launched as flavour chemical compounds or enhancers, encourage experimentation and initiation and maintain use.
Youths are particularly susceptible. WHO analysis reveals that dependancy can set in quicker throughout adolescence than maturity. The tobacco trade is aware of this and targets them intentionally.
WHO is actively supporting Uganda’s tobacco management efforts. Between 2022 and 2024, amongst different initiatives, the WHO supported the Ministry of Well being in coaching over 155 enforcers throughout varied areas, together with Bugisu, Busoga, Better Masaka, Bunyoro, and Kigezi. Greater than 85 public locations in chosen cities of Jinja, Mbale, Hoima, Masaka and Kabale had been inspected for smoke-free compliance. Seven key border factors, together with Zombo, Gulu/Elegu, Entebbe and Busia had been empowered to examine and seize illicit tobacco merchandise successfully.
We now have supported the event of secondary rules for testing and reporting the contents and emissions of tobacco merchandise. The capability of some chosen laboratories, together with Uganda Nationwide Bureau of Statistics, Uganda Drug Authority and the Directorate of Authorities Analytical Laboratories, have been constructed with the latter designated as the federal government laboratory to check and report the contents and emissions of tobacco merchandise in Uganda.
WHO acknowledges the facility of peer affect. In 2024, WHO supported the Ministry of Well being in coaching pupil leaders from six universities, together with Makerere, Kyambogo, Nkumba, Islamic College in Uganda, Cavendish, and Kampala Worldwide College to turn into youth tobacco management champions. Their voices are important in making a ripple impact in tobacco management schooling, particularly of their universities.
We urge the federal government to increase such applications to secondary faculties, instructor coaching schools, and police academies, to assist enforcement efforts.
We additionally name upon dad and mom, faculties, the civil society, and the media to be gatekeepers of fact. Allow us to create content material, faculty golf equipment, group dialogues, and social media campaigns that remember well being, not dependancy.
Tobacco use just isn’t a life-style selection; it’s an dependancy by design. One which the trade earnings from, whereas households, the economic system, communities, and well being methods bear the fee.
WHO reaffirms its dedication to working with all sectors to construct a more healthy, tobacco-free Uganda. This consists of exploring crop substitution methods for tobacco farmers and supporting stronger community-led consciousness campaigns.
Allow us to reaffirm our collective resolve:
To unmask the lies,
To empower our youth with data,
And to construct a tobacco-free Uganda the place each little one can breathe clear air, assume clearly, and dwell healthily.
Collectively, we will finish the cycle of dependancy and pave the way in which for a brighter, stronger future for our nation.