Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | One in seven Nigerians uses drugs, more than twice the global average, according to the country’s first major national drug-use survey published on Tuesday. The survey, conducted by the Nigerian government, the European Union and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), said an …
Read More »‘Radical rethink’ needed to tackle obesity, hunger, climate: report
Paris, France | AFP | To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a ‘global treaty’ similar to one for tobacco control. But this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a …
Read More »TOBACCO: Study recommends 70 percent tax to discourage smokers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More taxes imposed on tobacco products could reduce smoking in Uganda. That is the suggestion presented in the latest study by the Kampala-based think tank, the Economic Policy Research Centre-EPRC. The study led by Dr Ibrahim Kasirye, a Principal Research Fellow at the Economic Policy …
Read More »Rights abuses rife on Zimbabwe tobacco farms: HRW
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Global watchdog Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged Zimbabwe to take urgent steps to stem child labour and other rights abuses on the country’s tobacco farms. In a report titled “Bitter Harvest”, the HRW revealed that children as young as 11 were working on tobacco …
Read More »Africa new frontline in anti-tobacco fight: activists
Cape Town, South Africa | AFP | Africa and other developing regions are becoming increasingly significant battlegrounds in the effort to combat the spread of smoking, an anti-smoking campaign group warned on Thursday. But most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have inadequate monitoring of tobacco use, according to the authors of …
Read More »Top US health official resigns in conflict of interest
Washington, United States | AFP | The top US public health official resigned Wednesday due to financial conflicts of interest, a day after US media reported she bought tobacco stocks while heading the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A statement from the US Department of Health and Human …
Read More »Smoking changes lung cells, primes them to develop cancer
Washington, United States | AFP | Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke can change lung cells over time, making them more vulnerable to disease and priming them to develop cancer, US researchers said Monday. The report in the journal Cancer Cell is based on lab experiments on lung cells that were …
Read More »COMMENT: Tobacco worse than terrorism
Uganda should learn from the Kenyan court and get tough on one of the leading causes of preventable deaths By David Kabanda Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death globally. Its consumption is associated with increased risk of several cancers, including lung, larynx, oesophagus, oral cavity and pharynx, bladder, …
Read More »BATU profits down 50%
Sale of leaf business takes toll as Tobacco Control Act also gets set to bite By Patrick Kagenda In December last year, British America Tobacco Uganda (BATU) issued a public statement warning shareholders and potential investors that their profits would be significantly lower (by about 20%) than the previous year’s …
Read More »BATU hit by hard economic times
In recent years, shareholders of British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU) have come to always look forward to the first two weeks of May, the period when the company has traditionally held its annual general meeting. It has now become a guarantee that they must hear some really good news that …
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