LUSAKA, Jan. 31 -- The Zambian government has announced its plan to table a new law in parliament to control tobacco consumption, a decision welcomed Wednesday by the local consumer lobby group.
Recently, the government has said it intends to present the Tobacco and Nicotine Act to parliament this year as part of efforts to reduce tobacco consumption and save lives.
It is a step in the right direction to enforce a global treaty on tobacco control, the Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) said, praising the move as an important step in domesticating the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
"Zambia ratified the treaty in 2008, accordingly the country needs to domesticate the treaty through enactment of a domestic law in order for the treaty to have force," said Juba Sakala, ZACA's executive secretary.
However, the government also needs to implement and enforce already existing tobacco control regulations such as a 2008 law that bans smoking in public and calls for the introduction of smoking zones, he said.
In recent years, the Zambian government has announced some measures to curb tobacco consumption, including raising the tobacco tax and banning firms from running tobacco sales floors. However, local and international tobacco-control organizations expect the authorities to do more and faster.
According to government figures, about 23 percent of men and 17 percent of women in Zambia consume tobacco, while 17 percent of men and 1.3 percent of women use tobacco daily.