Date: 31/05/2003
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: World No Tobacco Day
SPEECH BY THE NATIONAL MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, AT THE WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY CELEBRATION, 31 MAY 2003
Honourable Guests, learners, educators, members of the school governing bodies, parents, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to join you on this very special day, the World No Tobacco Day. This is a day that is celebrated globally to highlight the dangers associated with tobacco and to share success stories about our efforts on tobacco control.
The international theme for this year's World No Tobacco Day is Tobacco free film, tobacco free fashion, Action. The focus of this theme is on the role of the entertainment industry, in particular the world of fashion and film in promoting tobacco products and the use of these products. The message is clear, - we want to urge them to stop being used as vehicles of death and diseases.
The tobacco industry continues to promote the advertisement, marketing and sponsorship of their products through the world of film and fashion. As you have seen from the presentation earlier today, many of our youth still receive items with cigarette logo on them.
It is important to understand some of the strategies being used to establish a market for tobacco products. By virtue of its ability to shape the perceptions, dreams and fantasies of the young and old, the world of film and fashion have become easy targets for marketing by the tobacco industry. Film and fashion help establish and reinforce norms of beauty, success and fun and link cigarette to this.
I want to urge you not to be lured by what you see in the movies or films. The truth is - tobacco causes unnecessary deaths, which can be prevented by not starting to smoke or by quitting. We have a challenge to intensify our efforts to use this and other media to send messages about the negative effects of smoking and promote better and health lifestyles.
As a responsible government, we have put in place several measures to protect our people from tobacco advertising, secondary smoking and to alert them to dangers associated with this unhealthy habit. The promotion of tobacco, which appears in movies, is as a result of cross border advertising which falls outside of the jurisdiction of our laws. These films are developed outside South Africa mainly in the developed countries.
However, I should inform you that South Africa together with other African countries fought very hard during the 56th World Health Assembly held Geneva over the last two weeks to address this matter. The final consensus was that countries that ratify this convention should thereafter work on a protocol on how the challenge of cross border advertising should be handled.
The World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This Framework Convention is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organisation.
It becomes a global instrument that can be used in curbing tobacco related deaths. According to the World Health Organisation, the current tobacco related deaths globally are estimated at five million a year, with 70% of them occurring in the developing countries. This figure is predicted to increase to 10 million by the year 2030 if we do not take necessary action.
South Africa was one of the countries that actively participated in the process of developing this tobacco treaty up to its adoption. Actually, we were the vice chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body which developed and finalised this convention for adoption by the World Health Assembly. We hope to sign to sign this convention on our Youth Day. This will be of symbolic significance as the youth is the main target of marketing of tobacco products.
In terms of the burden of disease in the world, tobacco is one of the fastest growing causes of preventable deaths. In 2002, the World Health Report on "Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life" listed tobacco amongst the top risks to health.
The other significant factor included in this list was underweight, which causes about 3 million deaths globally. Remember - even here, tobacco plays a role! The toxic substances found in cigarette interfere with the growth and development of the foetus, causing the babies to be under developed.
That is why amongst the health warnings on tobacco products, we specifically says: "Smoking of tobacco products is harmful to your health and to the health of children, pregnant or breast-feeding women and non-smokers".
If we do not join hands as a community, a nation and countries of the world in implementing measures that will curb the consumption of tobacco products, more people will be dying from cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other conditions linked to smoking.
Since film and fashion is mainly targeted at the youth, we need also to work together with young people in a collective Action to render these marketing strategies ineffective. We should empower our youth with knowledge and skills to make informed choices. We should encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices. This applies to all aspects of life whether it is sexual behaviour or pressures to take alcohol and other harmful substances.
Since our amended tobacco legislation came into force in 2001, several measures have been implemented to monitor and evaluate its implementation. This includes the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2002, which has just been presented to us here, and the Tobacco Legislation Compliance Study that we concluded recently.
The results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey are very encouraging. They should serve as a guide as we intensify our tobacco control efforts. They are highlighting the successes we are making and they also bring to our attention, the challenges that still lie ahead.
It is encouraging that we see a significant decrease in the number of learners who ever tried to smoke from 46,7% in 1999 to 37,6% in 2002. The number of frequent smokers has gone down from 10,1% in 1999 to 5,8% in 2002. There is a reduction in the prevalence of smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke pollution among non-smokers. On top of this, the majority of our people both smokers and non-smokers support the smoking restrictions in public places.
I want to congratulate the youth in this province for keeping the smoking rates even lower than the national rate. However, you should know that there is no level of smoking that is acceptable. I urge all of you including the parents, churches, Non Governmental Organisations and community based organisations to take a collective action to ensure that smoking prevalence is reduced even further.
There are challenges that we need to address. We need to ensure that cigarette is not sold to people under the age of 18. We need to strengthen our support for many of those who want to quit this habit but held back by nicotine addiction. These cessation programmes need to target both youth and adults.
In support of the banning of smoking in all South African schools, we need to ensure that our life skills programmes highlight the dangers of smoking. We are committed to ensuring that learners and other members of the school community work, learn and play in environments that promote health.
Programme Director, as a country we have made a pledge to create Healthy Environments for our Children and our campaign against smoking is part of our efforts to improve the environment in which we and our children live.
We launched the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative during the World Health Day on April 07 this year by signing the pledge of commitment that is here before us today. In sustaining this important initiative, I would like to invite all my colleagues present here today, heads of organisations, community leaders and parents to join me in reading and signing the Pledge of Commitment to the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative later today.
We should all work together to ensure that our children, the future generation of this country, live, learn and play in environments that are not harmful to their health and well being.
Thank you
Issued by the Ministry of Health
Source: Ministry of Health
Title: Tshabalala-Msimang: World No Tobacco Day
SPEECH BY THE NATIONAL MINISTER OF HEALTH, DR TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, AT THE WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY CELEBRATION, 31 MAY 2003
Honourable Guests, learners, educators, members of the school governing bodies, parents, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to join you on this very special day, the World No Tobacco Day. This is a day that is celebrated globally to highlight the dangers associated with tobacco and to share success stories about our efforts on tobacco control.
The international theme for this year's World No Tobacco Day is Tobacco free film, tobacco free fashion, Action. The focus of this theme is on the role of the entertainment industry, in particular the world of fashion and film in promoting tobacco products and the use of these products. The message is clear, - we want to urge them to stop being used as vehicles of death and diseases.
The tobacco industry continues to promote the advertisement, marketing and sponsorship of their products through the world of film and fashion. As you have seen from the presentation earlier today, many of our youth still receive items with cigarette logo on them.
It is important to understand some of the strategies being used to establish a market for tobacco products. By virtue of its ability to shape the perceptions, dreams and fantasies of the young and old, the world of film and fashion have become easy targets for marketing by the tobacco industry. Film and fashion help establish and reinforce norms of beauty, success and fun and link cigarette to this.
I want to urge you not to be lured by what you see in the movies or films. The truth is - tobacco causes unnecessary deaths, which can be prevented by not starting to smoke or by quitting. We have a challenge to intensify our efforts to use this and other media to send messages about the negative effects of smoking and promote better and health lifestyles.
As a responsible government, we have put in place several measures to protect our people from tobacco advertising, secondary smoking and to alert them to dangers associated with this unhealthy habit. The promotion of tobacco, which appears in movies, is as a result of cross border advertising which falls outside of the jurisdiction of our laws. These films are developed outside South Africa mainly in the developed countries.
However, I should inform you that South Africa together with other African countries fought very hard during the 56th World Health Assembly held Geneva over the last two weeks to address this matter. The final consensus was that countries that ratify this convention should thereafter work on a protocol on how the challenge of cross border advertising should be handled.
The World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This Framework Convention is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organisation.
It becomes a global instrument that can be used in curbing tobacco related deaths. According to the World Health Organisation, the current tobacco related deaths globally are estimated at five million a year, with 70% of them occurring in the developing countries. This figure is predicted to increase to 10 million by the year 2030 if we do not take necessary action.
South Africa was one of the countries that actively participated in the process of developing this tobacco treaty up to its adoption. Actually, we were the vice chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body which developed and finalised this convention for adoption by the World Health Assembly. We hope to sign to sign this convention on our Youth Day. This will be of symbolic significance as the youth is the main target of marketing of tobacco products.
In terms of the burden of disease in the world, tobacco is one of the fastest growing causes of preventable deaths. In 2002, the World Health Report on "Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life" listed tobacco amongst the top risks to health.
The other significant factor included in this list was underweight, which causes about 3 million deaths globally. Remember - even here, tobacco plays a role! The toxic substances found in cigarette interfere with the growth and development of the foetus, causing the babies to be under developed.
That is why amongst the health warnings on tobacco products, we specifically says: "Smoking of tobacco products is harmful to your health and to the health of children, pregnant or breast-feeding women and non-smokers".
If we do not join hands as a community, a nation and countries of the world in implementing measures that will curb the consumption of tobacco products, more people will be dying from cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other conditions linked to smoking.
Since film and fashion is mainly targeted at the youth, we need also to work together with young people in a collective Action to render these marketing strategies ineffective. We should empower our youth with knowledge and skills to make informed choices. We should encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles and make healthy choices. This applies to all aspects of life whether it is sexual behaviour or pressures to take alcohol and other harmful substances.
Since our amended tobacco legislation came into force in 2001, several measures have been implemented to monitor and evaluate its implementation. This includes the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2002, which has just been presented to us here, and the Tobacco Legislation Compliance Study that we concluded recently.
The results of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey are very encouraging. They should serve as a guide as we intensify our tobacco control efforts. They are highlighting the successes we are making and they also bring to our attention, the challenges that still lie ahead.
It is encouraging that we see a significant decrease in the number of learners who ever tried to smoke from 46,7% in 1999 to 37,6% in 2002. The number of frequent smokers has gone down from 10,1% in 1999 to 5,8% in 2002. There is a reduction in the prevalence of smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke pollution among non-smokers. On top of this, the majority of our people both smokers and non-smokers support the smoking restrictions in public places.
I want to congratulate the youth in this province for keeping the smoking rates even lower than the national rate. However, you should know that there is no level of smoking that is acceptable. I urge all of you including the parents, churches, Non Governmental Organisations and community based organisations to take a collective action to ensure that smoking prevalence is reduced even further.
There are challenges that we need to address. We need to ensure that cigarette is not sold to people under the age of 18. We need to strengthen our support for many of those who want to quit this habit but held back by nicotine addiction. These cessation programmes need to target both youth and adults.
In support of the banning of smoking in all South African schools, we need to ensure that our life skills programmes highlight the dangers of smoking. We are committed to ensuring that learners and other members of the school community work, learn and play in environments that promote health.
Programme Director, as a country we have made a pledge to create Healthy Environments for our Children and our campaign against smoking is part of our efforts to improve the environment in which we and our children live.
We launched the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative during the World Health Day on April 07 this year by signing the pledge of commitment that is here before us today. In sustaining this important initiative, I would like to invite all my colleagues present here today, heads of organisations, community leaders and parents to join me in reading and signing the Pledge of Commitment to the Healthy Environments for Children Initiative later today.
We should all work together to ensure that our children, the future generation of this country, live, learn and play in environments that are not harmful to their health and well being.
Thank you
Issued by the Ministry of Health
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