The effectiveness of tobacco c...

The effectiveness of tobacco control has proven the idea of ​​“possible”.

16/10/2018

The 39th international and 34th Ethiopian Tobacco Awareness Campaign, which was held from March to May under the theme “Let’s expose the ways that lead to nicotine and tobacco addiction!”, was held in the presence of the Deputy Speaker of the Addis Ababa City Council and other senior leaders.

In his opening speech, Dr. Mulu Imebet Tadesse, General Manager of the Addis Ababa Food and Drug Authority, stated that the concerted efforts made to make the city smoke-free over the past 5 years have yielded tangible results. He pointed out that 79 percent of public facilities are smoke-free and the number of smokers has decreased from 5.3 percent to 4.6 percent, indicating the change achieved. He also said that more than 800 violators of the law have been held accountable and model villages have been established.

In her message, Ms. Heran Gerba, Director General of the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority, stated that tobacco and nicotine products are causing serious harm to health, economy and national development, especially e-cigarettes and other new nicotine products are being used to expose young people to addiction. A survey conducted in 2024 showed that the number of tobacco users had decreased to 4.6 percent, and 1.3 million illegal cigarettes had been seized.

In her closing speech, Ms. Faiza Mohammed, Deputy Speaker of the Addis Ababa City Council, stated that awareness-raising and institutional coordination should be strengthened to reduce the social and economic harm of tobacco, and called on the community to actively participate in preventing the problem.

The success achieved has proven that the idea of ​​“It is Possible” is feasible, and efforts will continue to make Addis Ababa an exemplary African city free from tobacco and other harmful addictions.