Gambia Launches Tobacco Industry Monitoring Team

Source from:  The Daily Observer  06/24/2014

The Gambia has launched a national Tobacco Industry Monitoring Committee, tasked with the responsibility of monitoring, countering and denouncing tactics and strategies that have undermined tobacco control in the country.

The ten-man committee that has representatives from key government departments, such as trade, health, and finance, is also made up of journalists, the National Youth Council and Raid-The Gambia that was launched at the offices of the National Nutrition Agency(NaNA) in Bakau. The initiative is being supported by the American Cancer Society through local NGO, Raid-The Gambia.

Speaking at the launchingceremony, the director of health promotion and education at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Momodou Njai stated that the formation of the tobacco industry monitoring team was timely.

Lamenting on the high consumption and exposure of second-hand smoking, as well as the devastating impact of tobacco, he said, tobacco industry is very powerful and smart; and it often uses a vast array of tactics and strategies, both directly and indirectly to undermine tobacco control efforts. He therefore called on the team to renew their commitment and to monitor the activities of the industry.

Sambujang Conteh, the director of Raid-The Gambia, noted that the ten-man committee will work hard towards the activities of the tobacco industry, adding that the team has a huge task ahead of them.

He also thanked the African Tobacco Consotium (ATika) fortheir support towards the committee, noting that they will draw up a work plan for the country which would be implemented to monitor the activities of the industry. Enditem