Botswana has among the highest adult tobacco use rates in sub-Saharan Africa, a recent report shows.
About 240,000 of the country’s adults aged 15 years or older used tobacco, representing a tobacco use rate of 17.6 percent, according to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). This tobacco use rate is the highest of any country in the region that has carried out a GATS survey. The report shows 82.2 percent of adults purchased single cigarettes, which are more affordable than packs for consumers with low incomes.
According to the GATS report, 12.2 percent of adults who worked indoors were exposed to tobacco smoke in enclosed areas at their workplace, and nearly two in three adults were exposed to secondhand smoke in bars or nightclubs.
Anti-tobacco groups urged the government of Botswana to reject tobacco industry interference in health policy and to pass legislation to exclude tobacco companies and their allies from the policy process.
“Tobacco companies like British American Tobacco Botswana actively lobby to weaken life-saving tobacco control laws because they know such policies have been widely proven to work,” said Bintou Camara, director of Africa programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “The company also promotes its deadly business in Botswana through partnerships with retailers and other businesses under the guise of empowering small and medium enterprises.”