Ethiopians await implementation of national public smoking ban

ADDIS ABABA

By Addis Getachew

Restaurants, cinemas and hotels – along with other businesses in Ethiopia's hospitality and entertainment sectors – are eagerly awaiting implementation of a recently passed law banning smoking in public spaces nationwide.

Last month, Ethiopia's parliament unanimously passed a law banning smoking in all public venues.

The legislation, however, will not go into effect until it has been published in the 'Negarit Gazette,' the country's official newspaper.

But while many restaurants in capital Addis Ababa have already banned smoking, some restaurant owners complain that customers have simply ignored the no-smoking signs on the walls.

Shibeshi Tsige, owner of the "Passion Burger" franchise in which smoking is prohibited, told Anadolu Agency that many of his customers refused to comply with the ban.

"Some smokers light up despite the visible no-smoking signs on the walls of the restaurant," he said.

Senait Gadisa, deputy head of PR at the House of Peoples' Representatives (the lower house of Ethiopia's parliament), voiced hope that this would soon change.

"The law has already been passed but not put into effect, pending publication in the Negarit Gazette," Gadisa told AA. "I hope it will soon be published and implemented."

Once put into force, the legislation will aim to discourage smoking by raising cigarette prices and penalizing offenders, although the nature of the penalties and the extent of the price hikes remain unclear.

Notably, even some smokers spoke favorably of the looming ban.

Getahun Mulu, 38, a smoker of some 15 years, stressed his dislike for smoking near non-smokers. He called the imminent ban "a welcome piece of legislation."

Mulu, however, called on the government to take steps aimed at raising public awareness about the ban.

"Is it the smoker or the owner of a particular public place who will be penalized [under the new legislation]?" he asked.

Yet Mulu believes that the more a country develops, "the fewer the number of smokers."

One 32-year-old male smoker, preferring anonymity, complained that few people even knew of the new law.

"It's still unclear what will happen when someone is caught smoking in a public place," he said.

Nevertheless, he welcomed the ban as being "good for society."

A 2003 study conducted by the World Health Organization found that 7.9 percent of Ethiopian high schools students smoked cigarettes, while 41.2 percent of young people were frequently exposed to secondhand smoke outside their homes.

Another study, however, conducted in 2012 by the World Lung Foundation and American Cancer Society, put Ethiopia towards the bottom of the list in terms of per-capita tobacco consumption.

According to this study, the average Ethiopian adult smokes only 46 cigarettes per year – compared to a whopping 2,861 cigarettes smoked by the average adult in Serbia.

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