31 May 2021

Professor Bontle Mbongwe, an associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Botswana, is among six African region recipients of the World No Tobacco Day 2021 awards. 

The awards were announced by WHO ahead of the World No Tobacco Day celebrations held annually yesterday.

Speaking in an interview on Sunday, Professor Mbongwe, the founder of Botswana’s Anti-Tobacco Network (ATN), which she established as part of her community service with a vision to have a tobacco-free Botswana, said the award must be shared by all, the media, public and government. 

She said the win was made possible by the support from all stakeholders who were involved in supporting her fight on the use of tobacco. 

“The media played a leading role, they have been supportive in sensitising the public,” she said.

She revealed that her involvement in the anti-tobacco campaign started when she worked at the then Ministry of Health in 1992. She said she was involved in the campaigns that were led by her employer. She also noted that the first no tobacco day commemoration was held in 1987, and that it appealed to communities to choose health not tobacco.

She said while working under the Department of Environmental Health in 2000, she was assigned to lead a delegation to represent Botswana during the establishment of a framework convention on tobacco control.

She said as part of the assignment, she travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, three times annually to attend meetings representing the government position and that of the Afro region on tobacco advertising.

Professor Mbongwe noted that the recent award was not her first, having received one at the end of one of the conventions in 2003, which was also given to other delegates from the Afro region in recognition of their commitment to promoting public health. She also noted that the award was issued on the day of the adoption of the framework on tobacco control.

She said she continued with her campaigns to adopt a strong law to control the use of tobacco and that in 2004, the 1992 Tobacco Act was amended, prohibiting persons below the age of 16 years from taking tobacco.

Professor Mbongwe said the amended act also prohibited smoking in public areas and tobacco advertising, adding that although she left government in 2003 to join UB, her campaign was intensified. “My passion for tobacco control continues,” she added.

She revealed that her position on fighting the use of tobacco was not driven by her experience of working at the Ministry of Health and driving the tobacco ban campaigns. It was because she had lost close family members who succumbed to ailments associated with the use of tobacco. 

“I can vividly recall that when I was young, some family members who were smoking tobacco would send me on an errand either to buy a cigarette or light one for them. I felt that some of them died earlier as a result of taking tobacco,” she said.

Furthermore, Professor Mbongwe said during her campaign she came across a number of challenges such as some tobacco addicts willing to quit, but unable as they lacked support.

She said through the support of the American Cancer Society, she was able to form an anti-tobacco network which raised awareness and appealed to government to rectify laws and appeal to people to prioritise their health. 

She said it was unfortunate that the use of tobacco did not only affect people’s health, but also negatively impacted the economy and productivity at the workplace.

Prof. Mbongwe said valuable time was lost as smoking employees would continually take smoke breaks, adding that tobacco also contributed to increasing cases of non-communicable diseases. 

She said it was unfortunate that government was spending most of its budget in the health system treating people with health conditions that could have been avoided by not taking tobacco.

She also said it was unfortunate that although the law segregated smoking to certain locations such as restaurants, workers at such places were at risk as they would be exposed to the risk of tobacco during working hours. 

She is advocating for the total ban of tobacco in public places as well as banning any form of advertising, sale of tobacco on the streets, licence for sale of tobacco and to punish those selling it illegally.

She noted that tobacco was currently easily accessible as it was sold to everyone in quantities that everyone, even children, could afford. She said the sale of a single cigarette and any other small quantity must be banned to limit access.

Prof. Mbongwe said since 2010 her anti-tobacco crusade was advocating for the introduction of a tobacco levy and a tobacco levy fund. She said the levy would help  build rehabilitation centres to cater for the recuperation of tobacco addicts who were willing to quit.

 She said there was a glimmer of hope as in March this year government publicised a bill to deal with almost all the issues that they have been advocating for, adding that they were hoping that the bill would be tabled during the winter Parliament seating.

Prof. Mbongwe has, however, cautioned that the move to ban the use of tobacco, as proposed by the impending bill, would not be received kindly by others, especially those dealing in the sale of tobacco.

She said she believed the bill would open up a confrontation between government and tobacco dealers, adding that it was unfortunate that government was getting less from the tobacco business, but spending more on dealing with the aftermaths of using tobacco.

Prof. Mbongwe argued that the negatives of tobacco outweighed the good, adding that although it was a fact that some small businesses were making a living from the sale of tobacco, the fact was questionable looking at the misery that resulted from taking tobacco.

She said it was important for government to come up with substitute solutions such as establishing alternative livelihoods programmes. 

She said adoption of the proposed bill would open up a window of prospects.

  Prof. Mbongwe said as the world commemorated World No Tobacco Day, communities must intensify campaigns on controlling or banning the use of tobacco, and doing so in solidarity with those addicted to it. 

She said she has received accolades from those who have managed to quit tobacco through her support, and that she encouraged them to also assist others to abandon the habit.

 

  Meanwhile, a media release from UB says every year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises individuals or organisations in each of the six WHO regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control. ENDS