Ghana decries singles sales

The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a non-governmental organization has called on Ghana’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to ban the sale of single cigarettes with immediate effect, according to a Ghana News Agency story.
It reportedly said that the sale of single cigarettes had encouraged young people to smoke, and that smoking was destroying their lives through disease.
Labram Musah, the programs director of VALD, made the call for the ban at a news conference in Accra held to highlight the results of the survey conducted by VALD in collaboration with the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) in 10 capital cities of Africa: Sale of Single Stick of Cigarette to Kids.
The survey was conducted also in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda.
Musah said the sale of single cigarettes was problematic because it made smoking more affordable to young people and others with limited resources.
“Single stick cigarette sale facilitates experimentation among the youth who have not yet become regular smokers,” he said. “This is one of the major reasons the tobacco industry vehemently opposes sale of cigarettes in a pack of 20 sticks.”
Meanwhile, Musah urged the MoH and FDA and all relevant authorities to monitor British America Tobacco and Philip Morris International to prevent them from supplying free promotional materials to tobacco retailers in order to create recognition of their brands and encourage the sale of their products.
He said the authorities should enforce the ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and that this should include any promotional materials related to single sticks.
And he urged the authorities to ensure that cigarettes were not sold close to educational institutions, hospitals, children’s playgrounds and places where children are cared for.