By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Starr FmStarr FmStarr Fm
  • Home
  • Election Hub
  • General
    GeneralShow More
    Man attacks another for defecating on Cocoa Farm in Benso
    W/R: Man butchers 25-year-old for defecating on cocoa farm at Benso
    July 29, 2025
    Asantehene donates land for Kumasi School of Law
    Kumasi: Asantehene hands over land for construction of Ghana School of Law campus
    July 29, 2025
    Julius Debrah addressing SSNIT 60th anniversary event on youth and social security
    Julius Debrah urges youth to prioritise social security as future investment
    July 29, 2025
    15 Obogu Saviour Church youth die in tragic accident at Juaso
    July 29, 2025
    ECG cautions public against unauthorized meter transfers
    July 28, 2025
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Economist applauds bold move to de-dollarize Ghana’s economy
    July 25, 2025
    Ban on dollarisation could backfire without cedi stability – Joe Jackson
    July 25, 2025
    Mid-Year Budget shows clear commitment to economic stability – Joe Jackson
    July 25, 2025
    Google announces $37M in cumulative funding and new AI Community Center in Accra to advance AI in Africa
    July 25, 2025
    Cedi performance in first half of year has been impressive – Finance Minister
    July 24, 2025
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Bernard Bediako Baidoo picks NDC nomination form for Akwatia by-election
    Lawyer Bernard Bediako Baidoo joins Akwatia NDC parliamentary race
    July 28, 2025
    NSA Scandal: AG halts charges as GH₵80m goes missing from BoG account
    July 28, 2025
    “I want to jail looters, but asset recovery sometimes more pragmatic” – Ayine
    July 28, 2025
    Bawku conflict now ‘guerrilla-style’ hindering military response – Prof. Aning
    July 28, 2025
    Bawku Conflict: Mahama misled into premature visit – Security Analyst
    July 28, 2025
  • Entertainment
    EntertainmentShow More
    GHAT Fair 2025 kicks off to boost investment, innovation in transport
    July 28, 2025
    President Mahama mourns Daddy Lumba, calls him a national treasure in Facebook tribute
    President Mahama mourns passing of music icon Daddy Lumba
    July 27, 2025
    The Weeknd & Shakira to headline 2025 Global Citizen Festival with Tyla, Ayra Starr & Mariah The Scientist
    July 22, 2025
    ACP partners MiPrime Entertainment to Champion Investment in Ghana’s Creative Industry
    July 21, 2025
    I want music to be my legacy, not fame – Rocky Dawuni
    July 18, 2025
  • Sports
    SportsShow More
    Ghana Hockey pays tribute to late President Mills at Commemorative Tournament
    July 27, 2025
    NYA CEO, Osman Ayariga pledges support for 2025 Gbese Mantse Homowo Peace Cup
    July 25, 2025
    Kofi Adams hails Black Queens for gallant AFCON semi-final performance
    July 23, 2025
    Black Queens bow out of WAFCON 2024 after 4–2 penalty loss to Morocco
    July 23, 2025
    Sports Minister rallies Black Queens ahead of WAFCON semi-final with Morocco
    July 22, 2025
  • Technology
    TechnologyShow More
    Fantana praises launch of the Ghana’s Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System
    July 29, 2025
    Coding Controversy: Cybersecurity Pro Decodes Ghana Deputy Minister’s Answer – Right, Wrong, or Misunderstood?
    July 28, 2025
    AI integrated skills training needed to escape job losses – NBU YEC
    July 23, 2025
    Samsung Ghana unveils 2025 TV line-up
    July 22, 2025
    Osman Ayariga speaking on youth empowerment and AI at World Youth Skills Day event
    “Youth should not see AI as competition, but as a digital tool” – Osman Ayariga
    July 17, 2025
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu signs MoUs with GEICO and CMS Group for new public universities
    Education Minister signs MoUs with GEICO, CMS Group to establish two public universities
    July 15, 2025
    Presidency terminates Zoomlion’s contract over concerns of impropriety and inflated billing
    Mahama pushes AU–CARICOM partnership to strengthen global reparations push
    July 14, 2025
    47th AU Forum: Ablakwa criticizes $1.2m AfCFTA allocation as ‘highly insufficient’
    July 10, 2025
    Minority demands audit over $1.2m passport relaunch cost and delays
    July 9, 2025
    Minority demands compensation for citizens stranded by US embassy closure
    July 9, 2025
  • Factometer
Search
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Teenage Smokers; how Ghana’s low excise tax on cigarette encourages the deadly habit
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Starr FmStarr Fm
Font ResizerAa
  • Headlines
  • Election Hub
  • General
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Factometer
Search
  • Headlines
  • Election Hub
  • General
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Factometer
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Features

Teenage Smokers; how Ghana’s low excise tax on cigarette encourages the deadly habit

Starrfm.com.gh By Starrfm.com.gh Published March 22, 2018
Share
SHARE

Kwaku Addo, a 16 year old student of a prominent high school in Accra expressed his dismay when I disclosed that every year, more than 5000 people in Ghana are killed by tobacco related disease and half of all smokers will die from tobacco-related illness according to the latest Tobacco Atlas (2018).

Kwaku, had never considered the health implications of his smoking habit. Just like many teenagers today, he was exposed to onscreen smoking imagery and was made to believe that smoking signified maturity, making it easy to join the craze.

A troubling development about Kwaku’s experience has to do with the accessibility and cost of cigarettes in Ghana. When asked how and where he got his cigarettes from, Kwaku responded, “I go to a shop near my home, and with less than a Cedi, I get to buy a stick and I am good to go.” “Of course, I pretend to be buying for an adult,” he added.

Ghana has failed significantly when it comes to the excise tax on the retail price of cigarettes. The minimum World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark for excise tax on the retail price of cigarette is 70 percent. Ghana currently imposes an excise tax of only 13.02 percent on the retail price of cigarettes which is about 56 percent below the WHO benchmark contributing significantly to the low price of cigarettes in the country. A single cigarette stick is priced between 20 pesewas to 70 pesewas in Ghana making it very accessible to the youth.

“Tobacco tax increases that result in higher tobacco-product prices are among the most effective tobacco control measures available,” according to the Tobacco Atlas. The Atlas also notes that higher prices are especially effective in reducing tobacco use in more vulnerable populations, like youth and people with lower incomes, because those groups are particularly sensitive to price increases.

Over 5800 children (10-14 years old) smoke cigarettes every day in Ghana. “The number is expected to increase significantly as large tobacco firms turn their attention to Africa,” according to Dr. Steven V. Shongwe, the acting Director of the Non-communicable diseases (NCD) cluster at the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

This Principal Research Officer at the Ghana Health Service, Divine Darlington Logo revealed on the sidelines of the World Conference on Health or Tobacco in Cape Town that, there was no budgetary allocation in 2018 for the enforcement of the tobacco control law in Ghana.

“For the last five years, there has not been any money specifically allotted to tobacco control in Ghana. That has been part of the challenge in the effort to discourage young children from smoking. There are concerns of smuggling when it comes to increase in taxes on tobacco products,” he disclosed.

Kwaku, who began smoking at the age of 14 is now determined to quit the habit, but has no access to cessation counseling and has to rely on sheer will power to quit the deadly habit. He tells me, “It has been a struggle for me to quit for the past six months. I tried a few times but gave up eventually because the urge was too strong. Moreover, my closest friend also smokes so it makes it difficult to quit, even though I want to.”

The economic cost of smoking in Ghana amounts to 97 million cedis in direct costs related to healthcare expenditures and indirect costs related to early mortality and morbidity according to the Tobacco Atlas. Increased tobacco taxation revenues would strengthen domestic resource mobilization to help offset the costs to the Ghanaian economy as well as help government invest in tobacco control programs that can benefit the likes of Kwaku Addo.

Ghana can still do more to make the proven tobacco control tools work for its citizens’ wellbeing.

Credit: Gideon Sarpong | iwatchafrica.org

You Might Also Like

Five years on, Akua Denteh’s lynching renews urgent calls to pass Anti-Witchcraft Bill

Has the NPP’s Delegates Conference Mended the Cracks in the Party?

The Ghana E-Sports Scene You are Sleeping On

A Call for Greater Regional Representation in Ghana Music Awards Presentations

Your Next Justices? Parliament Puts Supreme Court Nominees Under the Spotlight

TAGGED:cigaretteiWatch Africa
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Share
Previous Article Cabinet yet to approve RTI bill – Mensah-Bonsu
Next Article Zylofon is the only music label in Ghana – Edem

Starr 103.5FM

Starr FmStarr Fm
Follow US
© 2024 EIB Network Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
newsletter icon
Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest in news, podcasts etc..

[mc4wp_form]
Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?