Tobacco control in Tunisia: WHO recommends banning sales to minors and increasing taxes

Tunis: Banning the sale of tobacco to minors and increasing taxes to step up tobacco control in Tunisia are among the main recommendations made by World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Tunisia Olfa Saïdi at a working session held on Thursday by the Committee on Health, Family, Social Affairs and the Disabled and the Committee on Finance and Budget.During the session, which was attended by experts and representatives from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the WHO Office in Tunisia, Olfa Saïdi pointed out the shortcomings of Tunisian anti-smoking legislation, notably with regard to the ban on the sale of tobacco to minors.During her presentation on tobacco control in Tunisia, "realities and challenges," she touched on a number of figures and indicators related to this phenomenon, which costs Tunisia TND 2 billion a year.On this occasion, the members of the WHO delegation reaffirmed the organisation's willingness to collaborate with the MPs of the Assembly of People's Re presentatives (ARP) to work on improving the legislative framework in the health field.They underlined the need to pool efforts and reinforce dialogue between researchers and decision-makers in order to define objectives based on accurate and realistic data.For their part, the MEPs acknowledged the seriousness of smoking and the need to establish effective mechanisms to reduce it and protect young people, pointing out the importance of sport as an alternative, calling for more investment in this sector and increased public awareness of the issue, notably in interior regions.Some MPs also spoke of the worsening health system in Tunisia, WHO's poor performance, notably in terms of training and supervision, the lack of prevention systems and the organisation's lack of intervention in this field.Several MPs denounced the WHO's failure to fulfil its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, who have been victims of the Israeli bombardments in Gaza.Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse