The Ins and Outs of a Smoke-Free Nation

- Following the likes of other anti-tobacco laws implemented in the west, Ghana’s ready and waiting to butt out once and for all -

By: Felicity Boachie-Danquah, Daily Dispatch and Sophie Nicholls, JHR

If “Big J” has his way, Ghana will be butting out for good.

The 65-year-old owner of Bywel bar in Osu, is leading the way towards a smoke-free nation, despite inhaling the tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and other deadly substances rampant in sticks himself for more than 50 years.

“When you come to a public place it is better not to have smoking at all,” he says, taking a deep inhale and exhale of his Rothman’s King Size. “Where there’s a lot of smoke it gets in your eyes, makes you cough. A cleaner environment keeps you healthy.”

Officially known as Jai Gulabrai, Big J recently implemented a smoking section at his bar, which is enforced by bouncers. Now smokers are restricted to lighting up along one side of the bar near the doorway. If they try to do so elsewhere, smokers are respectfully asked to move themselves over to the designated section, or head outside, as Big J does, to finish their sticks.

“I have been thinking about this a long time and gave everyone a clear indication of when it was going to happen,” says Big J, adding that he plans to ban smoking completely in his 25-year-old establishment by July. “I am setting an example. I tell them (smokers) point blank if you don’t want to come, don’t come. If you come here you obey the laws of the house.”

Other hospitality industry owners like Big J may be forced to do the same thing if a Tobacco Control Bill, drafted back in 2005 by the Tobacco and Substance Abuse Department within the Food and Drug Board (FDB), becomes law.

The bill, which has been created to protect current and future generations from the harmful effects of smoking, will regulate tobacco use in the country, restricting where people smoke and forcing smokers to do so in a more responsible way. About 20 provisions are outlined, looking to other smoke free nations including Canada and Brazil, which speak to banning tobacco advertisements, sponsorship and youth access, among others. When passed, the bill will restrict youths under 18 years from purchasing and selling tobacco and prohibit smoking in places including restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotels, offices, and upon public transit vehicles.

“When the legislation is finally in place, there would be “dos and don’ts” stating a complete ban on smoking, but before that, there would be a transitional period,” explains Mrs. Akua Amartey, Head of the Tobacco and Substances of Abuse Department at FDB, adding she is unsure when the bill will be implemented. “Until such time ... there isn’t much we can do. We are all hoping it will pass one day.”

According to Amartey, the drafting of the bill was necessary because many citizens have expressed the desire to see a smoke-free Ghana. This is evident when certain businesses, like Bywel, and institutions, such as educational and health facilities, are taking it upon themselves to eliminate tobacco use.

“It is generally accepted that you don’t smoke in certain places and so it’s working well,” she says. “I know that lots of Ghanaians are for the passing of this bill. Why it is taking so long? I do not know.”

Big J argues that the law will not be accepted so easily, due to smokers and business owners alike crying out for their rights.

“A lot of clubs will say they are going to lose business,” he says, adding that owners will demand keeping smoking and non-smoking sections to accommodate all clients. “In Ghana it is going to take a long time ... but if you do it, bit by bit, it’s like a slow poison.”

Manager of restaurant and lounge, Venus, in Osu, Axmi Conjahy, is one such owner, in complete disagreement with a smoking ban and feeling that it would negatively impact business.

“You don’t need someone telling you to put your cigarettes out,” says Mr Conjahy, who is also a smoker. “We have seating where people feel comfortable. I am not going to be like a school teacher and say ‘no, (don’t smoke) here, you’ve got to go outside.’”

Another smoker agrees, admitting that he has chosen to live in West Africa for the last 38 years because of the lax smoking laws.

“I would never accept it. I cannot enter a restaurant if I can’t smoke because when I am in the middle of eating, I want to have a cigarette,” says 51-year-old Robert Cowen. “If I stop smoking, I am finished.”

Venus, which was recently renovated, has both a smoking and non-smoking section, with three extractors, which cost between $50 and $300 each, to help clear the air.

“We realize some clients do prefer to have a non-smoking area,” says Mr.Conjahy. “We are putting a couple of (non-smoking) signs up. We have to respect others.”

But according to Mrs. Amartey, smoking and non-smoking sections, even with extractors, don’t clear the air enough to eliminate all the negative effects of second-hand smoke. Just like in smokers themselves, short term impacts include breathing difficulties, coughing, eye irritation, headaches, nausea and a runny nose or sneezing. The long term impacts include upper and lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis, Emphysema, heart disease and cancer of the Lungs, larynx/oral cavity/oesophagus, liver or pancreas. Pregnant Women who inhale second hand smoke also expose the harmful gases and chemicals, like cyanide, carbon monoxide and nicotine, to their unborn babies.

“I don’t agree with dividing part of the place ... that doesn’t work,” she says. “Anytime you smell the cigarette you are indirectly smoking. The air is always circulating.”

“I think smoking should be banned because when you’re in an environment where someone is smoking you’re inhaling it,” adds one non-smoker, Sowee Sanes, who frequents many bars in Accra. “You get a sore throat, your eyes burn and especially in the morning you feel the phlegm.”

Beyond patrons, there are also the rights of employees, who are inevitably exposed and affected by second-hand smoke, to consider.

“I don’t think smokers have any rights. I think they should keep their smoke to themselves,” says Kay Estherman, a bar manager in Accra, who fully supports the smoking ban. “It’s up to the establishment, but I don’t think that smokers should expect to light up where they want.”

Miss Estherman, a former smoker, who suffers from burning and tired eyes, stinky clothing and a raspy throat on the job, now finds herself lighting up the odd cigarette to deal with it.

“It makes it easier. I notice it less if I smoke,” she admits. “I choose to work in a place where there are smokers, so I have given up my right.”

Mr. Conjahy agrees adding that employees know the conditions before they begin working in the hospitality industry.

“It’s a fact of life,” he says. “They know what they’re in for before they decide to take the job.”

Though Mrs. Amartey agrees that smokers have the right to smoke, she says not at the expense of others. She advises tobacco users to act more responsibly.

“Smoking is your right but don’t let the unfortunate victims smoke your smoke,” she says, adding that one person’s smoke can affect thousands. “When people get sick as a result of other people’s smoke, it becomes a drain on the country’s resources. It therefore, behoves on smokers to watch their actions so that innocent people and unborn children are not killed through second-hand smoke.”

Although bill has been waiting three years to pass, the FDB are pushing anti-smoking messages, including that every cigarette smoked reduces life by five to twenty minutes, to the public in other ways. Training sessions with the hospitality industry have taken place promoting the need for smoke-free facilities. This year 100 Junior High Schools (JHS) across the country’s 10 regions will be visited to educate youths on the harmful effects of tobacco and other substance abuse. Amartey believes that with the right information, youths can make informed decisions. Targeting students before they proceed to Senior High School (SHS) is important since pressure to engage in negative acts is strongest.

“By the time they start SHS they will be able to tell right from wrong when they are away from their parents,” she says.

Coming back to Big J, the bar owner supports FDB’s activities, adding that targeting youth is the key to securing a smoke-free future in Ghana.

“It’s about getting the young ones not to even start smoking,” he explains. “They don’t know the damage it does. With us old ones the damage is done.”

According to the 2000 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 19 per cent of students in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) were using some form of tobacco and five per cent were smoking cigarettes, while a Finnish National Public Health Institute study in 2004 estimated that 17 per cent of Ghanaian youths were smoking cigarettes. A 2004 US Census Bureau estimated that 22.3 per cent of Ghanaians were using tobacco.