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The African tobacco conundrum | |||||||||||||||||||||
Increasingly people in the West are stubbing out their cigarettes for good, prompting tobacco companies to look around for new markets. Africa and the developing world are being heavily targeted. On the continent some governments have introduced public smoking bans to deter their citizens from taking up the habit. However such legislation has not been popular among the tobacco farming community where people are concerned for their livelihoods. No Tobacco Day On the World Health Organisation's World No Tobacco Day, Focus on Africa looks at the dilemma faced by Africa's tobacco producing nations trying to balance health concerns against the need for a reliable foreign exchange earner. Tanzania introduced restrictions on smoking in 2003, so will today's message have any effect there? Nigeria has turned into a flourishing market for major tobacco companies in the world, making campaigning against smoking difficult. In Kenya a landmark court case against a cigarette munufacturer is pending. The case has been filed by a peasant farmer, Amos Murigu, who is seeking compensation from British American Tobacco after his right leg was amputated following 48 years of heavy smoking. |
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