Ghana - smoking and tobacco use now part of general public health bill..

January 14, 2011 - The Tobacco Control bill has been scrapped. In its place the Attorney General’s Department has drafted a Public Health bill, under which strategies for tobacco control have been listed.

Officials say the new bill is more comprehensive and deals with all aspects of public health, including smoking and tobacco use.

This position contradicts suggestions by outgoing Health Minister Dr Ben Kumbuor that the Tobacco Control bill will be passed this year. (Ghana - ratified FCTC in 2004 but no Tobacco Control Law yet..)

Estelle Appiah, who heads the Legislative Drafting Division of the Attorney General’s Department, told Joy News the new bill is before Cabinet. (July 8, 2010 - PUBLIC HEALTH BILL/TOBACCO CONTROL BILL BEFORE CABINET)

“Tobacco is very much a public health issue and the Ministry of Justice in consultation with the Ministry of Health has prepared a Public Health Bill which is divided into eight parts…and part six of the bill has the Tobacco Control provisions,” she said.

Explaining the incorporation of the tobacco control bit into the larger Public Health Bill, Estelle said, “access to the law is a problem in our country and we figured that having all the laws that relate to public health in one place will be very useful to the public.

January 21, 2010 - JEORGE WILSON KINGSON a member of the Media Alliance on Tobacco Control (MATCO) accesses the tobacco control situation in Ghana and shares some advocacy thoughts.

Reference: Tobacco Control bill scrapped, Source: Joy News/Ghana, myjoyonline.com, 1/10/2011.

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