Teen smoking up in Malawi

First published in the Nation newspaper www.nationmw.net on 10 december 2008
Malawi tops in
teen smoking

by Kondwani Munthali

Malawian youngsters are ranked number three among 12 African countries currently implementing a tobacco smoking control African situational analysis (ATSA) programme, figures from World Health Organisation revealed this week.

Teenage smoking has been on the increase in Africa and Asia and a recent World Bank report indicated that smoking grew by 38.4 percent on the continent while it has been on decline in the developed countries.

“Zambia leads in the 12 ATSA countries with 25.6 followed by South Africa 23.6 and Malawi at 18.4 percent in teenage smoking for both sexes. Out of this figure of the 13 to 15 years old, girls make up at least 17 percent and 19 percent,” says a report on World Health Organisation Stastical Information system over a survey between 2005 and 2007.

The data reveals that more young females are starting to smoke as a casual and socially acceptable norm though they risk several reproductive health disorders including cervical cancer, reduced fertility, still birth and heart diseases.

Government has refused to sign the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which seeks to check smoking especially in public citing its economic reliance on the crop as the main reason.

“15 percent of the adult population in Malawi smokes out of these above the age of 15 only 6 percent are females while 23 percent are females,” reads the data. Cameroon tops up in adult smoking where Malawi is number five among the 12 countries.

Mauritius tops with the number of male adult smoking with Malawi at six and Nigeria which has Africa’s highest population has lies at number 11. Tanzania has the lowest adolescent smokers at 6 percent.

Malawi is expected to launch the ATSA programme targeting secondary schools to control smoking among young people in January under an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) grant to Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of Bunda College, Youth Alliance in Social and Economic Development (YASED), Ministry of Health and the National Youth Council of Malawi.

Team Leader of the project Deusdedit Kafere said in an interview that the pilot project to be implemented in Kasungu, Mangochi and Lilongwe is aimed at sensitising the youth on dangers of smoking and create smoke-free public places to ensure safety of non-smokers.


“The idea is not to stop production of tobacco, but to tell the youngsters about the risks of smoking. The dangers it poses to the health of non-smokers and ensure that people have the right information before the start smoking,” said Kafere.

On arguments by Government on not signing the FCTC, the Malawi ATSA team said the country was loosing out to an opportunity to diversify its economy after depending on tobacco for years at the same time putting most mothers and children at risk by not regulating smoking in public places.

“Malawi does not produce cigarettes which are the main focus of the project. The argument of putting 85 percent of Malawians at risk to make up our economy does not sound developmental,” reads the statement.

Ends.