Smoking risk factor for Non-Communicable Diseases: Malawi Health Ministry raises awareness
As the world celebrates World No Tobacco Day on Friday, Ministry of Health says Malawians need to be aware that smoking is a risk factor for many Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Spokesperson for the ministry, Henry Chimbali said in an interview that the public also needs to know that second hand smoke is as dangerous as smoking itself.
“A head of the World No Tobacco Day people should know the risk factors of smoking. For instance passive smokers inhale the second hand smoke which also contains carcinogens that may cause other health disorders including lung cancer just as active smokers,” said Chimbali as quoted by The Daily Times.
tobacco
He said that as of now, banning public smoking remains the responsibility of the owners of the public premises to create a clean environment for all people and other animals living within that area.
“But its enforcement by the government lacks supporting policies and regulations which Malawi currently does not have. Our research on risk factors for non communicable diseases shows that 14.1 percent of the adult population aged 25 to 64 use tobacco products,” he said.
To ban smoking, Malawi would need to ratify the international law on smoking and other related practices called the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC), Chimbali said.
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