Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, NCAS calls for tighter restrictions on accessibility of nicotine products
CAPE TOWN - Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, the Department of Health is calling on South Africans to consider becoming an organ donor.
The latest statistics from the National Council Against Smoking show that 25,000 South Africans die from tobacco-related diseases every year.
And non-smokers aren't spared risk - they're at risk of developing smoking-related illnesses by being around those who do smoke.
Spokesperson for the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), Ingrid Bame, said that there should be tighter restrictions on the accessibility of nicotine products.
"We should also remember that tobacco products contain nicotine, which is the addictive chemical in the product which leaves users dependent and addicted to their preferred tobacco product. Due to the addictive cycle of chasing the dopamine effects, smokers are prone to mood swings, increased anxiety and depression and an overall life that displays something that is unhealthy."
Bame added that the advertising of nicotine products at grocery checkout counters should be banned.
"We also see people who smoke be less fertile than those who don't smoke and with women that smoke, they stand a higher chance of complications during pregnancy, which includes low birth rate and miscarriages."
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The conduct of the department in not addressing these challenges is inconsistent with the Constitution,' the report added. While the Eastern Cape Department of Health has not yet commented on the Public Protector's report, provincial health minister Ntandokazi Capa's spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, said earlier in May that R143-million had been earmarked to improve services at Nelson Mandela Bay's two largest hospitals, Livingstone and Dora Nginza. He confirmed last week that 10 new doctors and a number of nurses had been appointed at Dora Nginza Hospital. DM
