The world health organization has asked Uganda government to speed up the enactment of the proposed Tobacco control bill into a law.

The demand was made by the WHO Advisor on disease control Miriam Nanyunja while speaking to journalists in Kampala.

She said that 172 countries ratified the WHO framework convention on Tobacco control including Uganda but Uganda is still among the countries which have not passed the law for tobacco control to stop some of the tobacco effects against people’s health.

Nanyunja asked the civil society organizations which advocate for tobacco control in Uganda to lobby MPS and  persuade them to have the Tobacco control bill  tabled in parliament  and late passed into law.

She urged the government to  find alternative crops to tobacco growers to abandon tobacco growing because it affects their lives and it has not helped them to fight poverty in all life they have grown it.
NEMA  formulated a law against public smoking which was enacted in 2004 and states that: “No person shall smoke a tobacco product or a lighted cigarette in an enclosed, indoor area of a public place.” Smoking is also banned in public transport, airports etc and owners of bars, theaters and other public places are mandated to place ‘no smoking’ signs on their premises, but smoking is still taking place in public places

Ultimate Media