Quality Control Officer, World Health Organization (WHO), Reynold Senesie, has stated that Sierra Leone as a country was spending over Le400 billion yearly due to the failure by authorities to implement tobacco control laws.

Speaking at a media breakfast meeting held at Country Lodge in Freetown, he said low income countries were now the target for tobacco importation by manufacturers, with tight rules and regulations governing all tobacco products in developed countries.

“As a country, we are currently investing a lot in the health care system especially for women and children, but we have failed to protect our investment. From childhood, we have been supporting our children right up to primary, secondary and university and by the time they come out of studies and start earning and expect them to be productive in society, they start getting sick, which means they will be less productive during working hours because they have become addicted to smoking,” he said.

He said it would be very important as a country to protect young people from the dangers of tobacco.
“Tobacco kills and it is a risk factor for at least 40 diseases. Every year in Sierra Leone, about 3,300 people die of tobacco and you realize that most of these deaths, about 58% are actually from the ages of very productive stage,” he said.

He said tobacco has been responsible for a number of deaths of about over eight million people yearly and that a majority of those that were infected with severe cases during the COVID were cigarette smokers with high risk to communicable diseases.
He said tobacco law is mainly to protect the non-smokers.

“A lot of people don’t know about Ceshar and the trouble is that young people are into it especially in the clubs and bars. Most times, the trouble is that one round of Ceshar smoking is equivalent to a hundred or two hundred sticks of cigarettes which is very dangerous,” he cited.

In the area of taxation, he said measures are needed to be put in place as tobacco is one of the cheapest products in the country, and that a box of it could be afforded at a cost of less than $3, with just ten sticks in it.

He said the country is not manufacturing tobacco leaves but destroying young people whilst the manufacturers continue to make profit.

He opined that if regulations are put in place as a country, within fifteen years, the country will be able to save an amount of Le1.9trillion by implementing tobacco laws.

“It is so cheap that our youth can afford to buy it, therefore, we should make way to ensure that access to such products are limited. We have to increase the price and try to monitor easy trade of this product as most times these products are smuggled into the country,” he stated.

Earlier, Chairman for the occasion, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said the purpose of the program was to help broaden the knowledge about the just enacted Tobacco and Nicotine Control law and that the media should tell the story to help youth that are involved in smoking and also to at least help them to come out of it.

Chief Executive Officer of Focus 1000, Alhaji M. B Jalloh, commended all stakeholders that have been in the forefront in making the bill becomes law, adding that it was a remarkable day for them especially when the government together with others came together to protect the lives of young people, women and children.

He said Focus 1000 has been in operation for the past ten years and that they focused on the first one thousand days of life, which is the foundation of life for all children.

He said human capital development should be focused on the first one thousand days which is a very crucial stage for the child hence they were pleased that the Sierra Leone Parliament was able to control the lives of citizens.

He commended the ministry of health as they strongly believe in partnership which was visible with the enactment of the law.

He said the road to its enactment had not been an easy task, yet they conquered and that they will make sure the law is implemented in all spheres of life and give a meaning to it.

Hon. David Kassegbama of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, said Sierra Leone has been part of the 38 countries to have enacted the tobacco law, but urged that people should be sensitized through public meetings.

He said it is now left with the ministry of health in making sure that the law be enforced in order to help pregnant women and children, and also let the people know the advantage and disadvantages involved.

Deputy Chief Medical officer, Public Health – Ministry of Health, Dr. Alie H.Wurie said as a nation, they were happy to be part of the other countries in protecting the lives of citizens.

He said the nation was losing a lot of productive people in society due to their lifestyles especially the young ones.

He said young people were exposed to a dangerous lifestyle and that tobacco affects all part of the body.