Public consultations recently closed on plans to impose an excise tax on e-cigarettes in South Africa, and the suggested policy proposals have already proven controversial. In particular, the South African government intends to introduce a new excise tax on e-cigarettes, applying the duty to both non-nicotine and nicotine solutions used…
Ghana is set to complete its ratification of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, an international treaty under the aegis of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The move is a landmark step for a country where one in five cigarettes are sold illegally and an…
Note: This article was updated on March 26, 2021 to include comments from Apollinaire Compaoré. Two troubling recent investigations from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have shone a fresh spotlight on the tobacco industry’s continued complicity in tobacco smuggling in Africa. The first highlighted how Philip Morris…
A group of tobacco farmers in Malawi have filed a claim in British courts, alleging that years of worker exploitation and child labor violations are among the real reasons for why two tobacco firms have been so profitable. The claims against British American Tobacco (BAT), Imperial Brands, and their parent…
A consortium of tobacco companies has taken the South African government to court in a bid to overturn the administration’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol and tobacco products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan Tobacco International (JPI) and British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA), together with The South Africa…
South Africa, although hailed as one of the most prosperous economies on the African continent, remains a country of missed opportunities. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) once again made this clear in its consultations with the Treasury, urging the government to implement reforms to tackle weak growth as well as…
Nigeria will enact strict tobacco control provisions that have been tabled for four years, according to its ministry of health, which publicly announced provisions on Friday in conjunction with World No Tobacco Day and the World Health Organization. The country’s national assembly ratified the 2015 National Tobacco Control Act provisions…
A new “Tobacco Atlas” was launched Thursday at the World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town, and it shows the continued trend in the tobacco industry to target vulnerable populations in Africa. Co-authored by American Cancer Society (ACS) and Vital Strategies, the sixth edition details the products and…
Kenya on Thursday became the latest African nation to ban the use of shisha, an addictive and sweetly flavored tobacco smoked while using a water or hookah pipe. Dr. Cleopa Mailu of the country’s Ministry of Health issued the new control measures, which cover both the use and sale of…
The physician who leads the Africa Tobacco-Free Initiative has spoken out against candidate Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, just as the final vote for World Health Organization Director-General (WHO DG) looms next week. Dr. Frank Ashall, in an open letter published online Friday in the well-regarded British medical journal The…