Health rights activist George Jobe, Executive Director of the Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN), has called for stronger government action to reduce tobacco-related deaths, warning that tobacco use is placing a significant burden on the country’s health sector.
Speaking from a public health perspective, Jobe acknowledged Malawi’s relatively low smoking prevalence rate but stressed that current figures remain a serious concern. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Malawi had approximately 767,000 adult smokers in 2024, while 5,419 deaths recorded in 2021 were directly attributed to smoking-related diseases.
The Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Alliance Malawi estimates that tobacco-related illnesses cost the country approximately K55.2 billion annually in healthcare expenses and lost productivity.
“All these demonstrate that tobacco use is already placing a significant burden on Malawi’s health system, households, and economy,” Jobe said.
Jobe welcomed Malawi’s ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which came into effect on 16 November 2023, but emphasized that implementation and enforcement are now the key priorities.
“We need stronger tobacco control measures, which should include effective taxation and protection from secondhand smoke,” he stressed. “Here we are talking about secondhand smoke in public places, where eventually non-smokers end up smoking.”
He further noted that Malawi needs stronger restrictions on the advertising and promotion of tobacco products. Jobe also called for enhanced public awareness campaigns and accessible cessation services, particularly for younger people. He identified these as core measures under the WHO’s MPOWER approach, which comprises six proven tobacco control strategies: monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from tobacco smoke, offering help to quit, warning about the dangers of tobacco, enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and raising taxes.
“As Malawi, we also believe tobacco control should be treated as part of the prevention agenda for non-communicable diseases in the country,” he added. “Tobacco is a major risk for cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases. So, you talk about asthma and hypertension or heart disease. These also get contributions from tobacco smoking.”
Jobe concluded that tobacco control is not only about helping people stop smoking. It is about preventing young people from starting, protecting communities from exposure to tobacco smoke—especially non-smokers—and reducing avoidable deaths.
“It is also about protecting our health resources, because when people smoke and they get sick later on, we also put a strain on our health resources,” he said. “People would want to go to hospitals; health care workers must attend to them; and we talk about medicines. So, this can be protected if we have some control over tobacco smoking.”
According to Section 109 of Malawi’s Public Health Act (1948), smoking is prohibited in public places. The provision states that a person who, except in a designated area, smokes tobacco or holds a lighted tobacco product in an enclosed or indoor area of a workplace or public place commits an offence. This provision establishes smoke-free environments under the Act, though enforcement remains a challenge.
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