The Daily Graphic commends the Food and Drugs Authority for embarking on mass public education on Anti-tobacco smoking. The education aims to sensitize the public not only to quit smoking but also know the associated health benefits of not smoking. The paper says statistics from the FDA are staggering and if there is anything to go by, then they demand the continuous enforcement of comprehensive smoke-free policies such as ban on tobacco advertisement, fees on tobacco product importation, ban on public smoking and the corresponding introduction of punitive fines to help reduce the prevalence of tobacco use in the country. It says each year tobacco kills more than eight million people globally, with seven million of these death emanating from direct use of tobacco and around 1 point 2 million people from exposure to second hand smoke from smokers. The Graphic suggests that the benefit of quitting tobacco must be supported by all and sundry as the benefits are enormous as such all must play active roles to get the country to commit to quit smoking.
The Ghanaian Times congratulates ECOWAS leaders on a successful summit. It says it is the hope of everyone that the demands and directives would be followed to the letter so that Mali could be readmitted to the regional bloc as soon as possible for it to enjoy whatever benefits belonging to the body comes with. The paper is however unhappy some critical issues were not addressed. One bothers on how leaders of a suspended country can be made to take an active part in implementing decisions that they deem will work against them especially as such actions worsen the plight of citizens. It is also worried about the exclusion of the three transitional leaders from contesting in elections after the eighteen-month transition. The paper wonders if the three will be eligible to contest future elections and whether they would be treated as retired statesmen. For the Ghanaian Times Malians deserve better and efforts must be made to ensure that.
