A goalkeeper fighting tobacco in Senegal

Growing up, Lamine Thiare watched how smoking damaged his father’s health. “He had no appetite, his body was weak. But when he quit, he was in good shape and ate better,” recalls the 40-year-old goalkeeping coach at Diambars Institute.

Diambars, a preeminent sport and education academy also known for its professional football team, Diambars FC de Saly, aims at “making the football passion a driving force for education”.

And Thiare also aims to use the football practice field for schooling on the damage that smoking can cause. “Tobacco can end a career in sports,” Thiare reminds his players every day. “Not smoking has allowed me to enjoy a long career in sport. We coaches must lead by example. That is why I am involved in the fight against tobacco.”

Before each practice, Thiare also reminds the athletes of basic health and hygiene rules. “I see these young people as ambassadors. Most of them play for national teams—they have to show the right example. Before practising, we urge them to convey the message against tobacco use,” he explains of his devotion to ending the use of tobacco products, especially among young people.

In Senegal, 9.2% of students aged 13–15 use tobacco, according to the 2020 Global Youth Tobacco Survey findings of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Senegal is considered one of the most advanced African countries in the fight against tobacco use. A 2016 law forbids tobacco advertising and the sale of tobacco products within 200 metres of schools, stadiums, health facilities and cultural facilities.

“The coach has been talking to us about tobacco for long time, including about not hanging around smokers,” says Mohammed Edaly Cisse, a goalkeeper from the Nkono keepers academy that Lamine Thiare set up to train young goalkeepers. He says Thiare has made it clear: “Our body is like a machine. It must be well maintained, so we cannot take in something that will destroy our body.”

In Africa, around 13% of teenage girls use tobacco products, according to WHO. Recent studies have shown that the prevalence rates for young girls (at 4.6% to 36%) have become as high as for boys (at 7.8% to 36%).

“Tobacco damages the lungs. I saw people smoking who are now sick,” says Sarata Sane, a goalkeeper for the young women’s national A team. Referring to Thiare, she adds, “The coach always tells us that tobacco is not good for sport people. Whenever I see a friend smoking, I tell her to stop.”

Cardiologist and sport physician Adja Marietou Diop (above middle) often drops in on the Diambars practices. As president of the Senegalese League Against Tobacco, she regularly collaborates with Thiare.

“In addition to adverse health effects, we speak to the youth about their career and their longevity in sport,” she says. “Young people are the main target of the tobacco industry, which is why we need to alert them at a very young age on the fact that there are no benefits in smoking—not only because it will impact their health but also because it is a trap. In order to develop a strong personality, one must have no addiction. One never knows when they will manage to quit once they start smoking.”

According to recent Global Youth Tobacco Survey findings, around 13% of children in Senegal are exposed to second-hand smoke at home and more than 15% inside enclosed public spaces.
A government epidemiological survey found that children have started using tobacco at the age of 7, down from age 10 in 2013. New habits are developing among youth, such as shisha, despite being illegal.

Thiare (white jersey), who has also trained young goalkeepers in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Mauritania and filled them with the same messages on tobacco, proudly boasts that among the 120 student athletes at Diambars Institute, “nobody smokes!”

In Senegal, buying cigarettes is very easy and affordable in the numerous small streets stalls. Temptation is high for young people to imitate their elders. So it’s important that they learn about the dangers of smoking from elders, mentors and teachers early in life.

“Someone like coach Lamine Thiare, who works with children, plays an important role in raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco”, oncologist and national coordinator of the Tobacco control programme at the Ministry of Health.

When he does not train young players at the Diambars Institute, Thiare works at his own Nkono Keeper Academy, where his anti-tobacco schooling is a daily mantra.

“It works,” he says, happily. “Every time our players go to a match, we hear good things about them because they show a good example. Their behaviour is impeccable. Not smoking can help them to enjoy a long career in sport. I am living proof of it.”