A new initiative to #SwitchoffTobacco in Mamelodi launches this week. A dynamic team of Protect our Next ambassadors will be educating the Mamelodi community about the dangers of tobacco and e-cigarettes and explaining how the new Tobacco Control Bill will better protect communities. Community media and social channels will carry #SwitchoffTobacco discussions, while the ambassadors visit local schools, churches, taxi ranks, malls, traders and community hotspots over the next month with an engaging edutainment programme that encourages the whole community to pledge to be tobacco free.
This World Tuberculosis Day, South Africa’s health organisations forming part of the Protect our Next initiative, including the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of SA and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) are calling on more people to reach out for help to stop smoking, and for the implementation of a stronger tobacco control policy to create an enabling environment for those who want to quit. The 21-Day #Quitforlove Quit Smoking challenge starts on World Tuberculosis Day 24 March – sign up at www.protectournext.co.za/quitforlove or via the @protectournext Facebook page. Dr Sharon Nyatsanza of the National Council Against Smoking provides insights on smoking and tuberculosis in South Africa.
Tobacco affects our human rights to life, health and a healthy environment, and must be better regulated, say South Africa’s prominent health organisations forming part of the #protectournext movement. With International Human Rights Day falling on December 10th, these organisations including the National Council Against Smoking, CANSA, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) are joining others around the world in calling for bold action in tobacco control to protect our right to health. The 2020 theme, ‘Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights’ relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts.
Protect Our Next
Tweets by National Council Against Smoking
Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that in South Africa (SA) alone, smoking results in more than half of lung cancer deaths, 37% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths, and over 20% of cardiovascular deaths and tuberculosis (TB) deaths. Smoking-related TB deaths are especially prevalent in South Africa, due to a higher vulnerability of HIV-positive individuals to TB. Because it attacks the lungs, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could be an especially serious threat to those who smoke or vape.
The new Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill will make it easier for South Africans to choose smoke-free lives, regulate the danger of e-cigarettes and decrease the impact of second-hand smoke on the majority of the population, who are non-smokers. Why is taking time to implement? Tobacco industry profits are at the expense of addicted smokers, their families, and public health. Together, the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa are steadfast in campaigning for the new Bill to be passed. It’s time for our people and our government to show leadership in implementing global best practice to curb the onslaught of big tobacco.
Zanele Mthembu, Public Health Development and Policy Consultant
Savera Kalideen, Executive Director of the National Council Against Smoking
Sharon Nyatsanza, Project and Communications Manager, National Council Against Smoking
Lorraine Govender, National Advocacy Co-Ordinator, Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)
Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa
Dr Catherine Egbe, Specialist Scientist: Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council
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