Smoking in public could end in Malawi: Environmental experts lobby for anti-smoking policy

Environmental experts in Malawi have called for anti-public smoking policy following high records of deaths due to smoking of cigarettes in public.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, over five thousand Malawians are killed by tobacco-caused diseases annually.

The statistics further show that six million people die annually around the globe from smoking with six hundred thousand people dying for living in an environment of smokers.

Reacting on the matter, Malawi Environment Health Association (MEHA) has called for the need to have anti-public smoking policy in the country.

Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, Head of department for the faculty of Environmental Health at the Malawi Polytechnic Limbani Kalumbi, who is also a member of MEHA said the country needs to have a policy curbing smoking in public places.

“First of all we are to have campaigns so that people should know the dangers of smoking in public to others and we are targeting the youths who are moved to be smokers by peer pressure,” said Kalumbi.

He added that Malawi needs to reflect on controlling tobacco pandemic by minimizing effects of smoking as the world commemorates Environmental Health Day on September 26.

The theme for the commemoration of environmental day is “Tobacco control… a response to the global tobacco pandemic” as declared by the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH).

BY LUKE BISANI from Malawi24.com