Ethiopia: Tobacco Control Convention Tabled Before Parliament

Source from:  The Reporter (Addis Ababa) 12/31/2013

After several years of advocacy by various groups, who were pushing and lobbying the government for the formulation of a legislation to regulate and control tobacco products in Ethiopia, the House of Peoples' Representatives (HPR) has begun reviewing a newly-proposed draft bill to govern tobacco.

The draft bill, which was presented to the House on Tuesday, was said to be formulated based on the international convention, the WHO Frame work Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) that has been so far signed by 172 countries including Ethiopia.

The convention, first adopted in May 2003 in Geneva, has been welcomed by Members of Parliament (MPs). At the regular session of the House it was noted that if Ethiopia is to ratify the bill, there are several favorable conditions in the country that enable the implementation of the legislation.

Apart from the enabling legal framework to protect citizens from the health hazard and pollution from tobacco, the ratifying convention by itself has important benefits for Ethiopia like securing high financial, material and technical support from the UN through the WHO.

Though Ethiopia had signed the convention back in February 2004, it was, however, pointed that the country remains among the last 12 nations in the world that have not ratified it yet. The Framework Convention consists of various strategies believed to help reducing the demand of tobacco and controlling its supply.

Among the strategies listed are price and tax measures and non-price measures as "an effective and important means" of reducing tobacco consumption in various segments of the population, particularly the young generation.

Implementing tax policies and price policies on tobacco products is also identified as appropriate measures of reducing consumption. Similarly, prohibiting sales of imported tobacco by international travelers of tax-and-duty-free is also pointed in the article.

The legislation proposes the need to adopt and implement legislative, executive, and administrative measures to promote and strengthen public awareness of tobacco control issues by using all available communication tools.

Furthermore, it also grants countries the right to determine and establish taxation policies, and take account of their national health objectives concerning tobacco control and adopt appropriate measures.

According to the proposed draft bill, the Ethiopian Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority is empowered to undertake "all acts necessary" for the implementation of the convention.

During a discussion session in the House, most of the MPs said that the country should have ratified it earlier.

MPs also forwarded suggestion for the respective standing committee to study why the country took longer period of time to ratify the convention.

Commending the move to regulate tobacco, the lone independent MP in the 547-seat assembly of lawmakers, Dr Ashebir Woldegiorgis, requested the standing committee to review which would be the responsible organ to be held accountable for leaving the nation to wait too long to adopt the agreement, which he said, resulted in losing the possible benefit the country could have gained from the UN in merely ratifying it alone.

Amid the discussion, another surprising comment that left parliamentarians smiling, is from an MP who proposed the closure of tobacco factories.

"Presenting this convention here is very commendable to our country. But from the very beginning, what is the importance of having a tobacco factory? In my view, no tobacco factory should be allowed to operate. Still, all the existing factories should be shut down if we are really concerned about shaping the minds of our children. "

He further explained what is going on in various "illegal film houses". "That's where teenagers consume cigarettes and any form of tobacco," he said. "These days, children assume that smoking cigarette is a modern trend, and they are becoming fast addicted at a very fast pace," the MP added.

Interestingly, his comment immediately turned the House with sudden burst of amusement as he kept on challenging the MPs by questioning, "Let alone the children, if we honestly talk about tobacco, how many of us even in this House consume tobacco?".

In a reaction to the comment made by the individual MP, Speaker of the House, Abadula Gemeda, said, "It's important to consider the convention and the comment forwarded. This convention is not the issue of Ethiopia alone. It's a common pact that has been commonly signed by many nations across the world. If you believe you want your idea to be considered as an agenda, you can still initiate it some other time for this House."

Finally, the House unanimously voted "aye", referring it to the Social Affairs Standing Committee for further revision.