Kasane, 31 May 2009 -- In the long standing tradition of taking the commemoration to people, this year the commemoration was in the tourist town of Kasane in the extreme North west part of the country.

The theme was Tobacco: Health Warnings! It is a theme that resonates well with a lot of initiatives of various government institutions including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government, the Botswana Police service who all made presentations and exhibited at the event.

The Guest speaker, the Honourable Assistant Minster of Health, Mr Gaotlhaetse Matlhabaphiri enthralled the crowd by giving a personal account of how he came to hate both cigarettes and snuff, both of which were unpleasant experiences during his school days. He thanked WHO for tools such as the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Botswana ratified in July 2005.

Earlier, the WHO Officer In Charge, Dr Owen Kaluwa, had congratulated Botswana on being one of the first countries to sign and ratify the FCTC and on the progress made since then through partial bans and regular reporting.

“We are happy to note that Botswana has taken some steps including a ban on tobacco advertising. We, however, realise that the tobacco industry has cunningly found ways around the ban as they normally provide their retailers with specially designed, colourful stand-alone racks clearly promoting the brands they are selling. This is an area that needs to be addressed.” Dr Kaluwa said. He urged the Ministry of health to utilise the mpower package to strengthen its activities around tobacco control.

The Ministry of health stall was the most popular as people including the Honourable Minister’s entourage were intrigued by a poster depicting the damage smoking can do to the human body. This education was buttressed and given further impetus by the testimony of a long term smoker who was forced to give up smoking by experiencing many of the symptoms shown in the smoker’s body. The graphic, humourous and almost self-deprecating manner in which the testimony was delivered made the presentation very interesting and interactive. The gentleman now leads a Quit Smoking Support Group supported by the Ministry of Health. In addition to giving public lectures, testimonies and counselling sessions, the support group conducts school sessions and has become a permanent fixture in commemoration of World No Tobacco Day.

The Police presented on the Drugs Act and indicated that although smoking is not banned in the country, smoking in public places, especially enclosed ones, is an offence punishable by law. They also indicated that possession or use of tobacco products such as cannabis is not allowed by law and that any contravention of the law will invoke stiff penalties. They requested the public to be vigilant and partner with them in arresting a situation they felt was getting out of hand.

Education also came in the form of drama and music by local groups including the primary school. WHO displayed and distributed posters and brochures on the topic.