A Review Of The Laws Regulating Tobacco Cultivation And Consumption In Uganda

ABSTRACT

Uganda ratified the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

(WHO FCTC) in June 2007, and passed the Tobacco Control Act (2015) in September 2015 in

compliance with (WHOFCTC) which requires signatories to pass local legislations aimed at

controlling tobacco use in their states. Tobacco Control Act, 2015 is the primary law regulating tobacco cultivation and use in Uganda. However, there are some existing laws that lend limited support to tobacco control efforts, but these have not been effective. For example: The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, under article 39 that provides for a right to a clean and ' health environment, The National Environment Act 1996, in section 58(1), The Public Health Act (1964), section 13(a) and section 13(b), The National Environment (control of smoking in public places) Regulations 2004, Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2006, Uganda standards 313; 2002 among others. Despite the existence of some tobacco control related laws and smoke free regulations, enforcement has remained the biggest challenge for agencies mandated to bring them to bear. There is very little awareness among the general Ugandan public of the existence of these laws, but even more worryingly, amongst statutory bodies such as the Judiciary, District authorities and the Ugandan Police Force. Some owners of public places do display 'No Smoking' signs on their premises, but this is only as far as they are willing to go. The tobacco industry in Uganda continues to advertise, promote and sponsor activities aimed at increasing pemand for tobacco products especially amongst the youth. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS, 2007) indicates that overall 15.6% of 13- 15 year old students have smoked cigarettes. The rate among boys that have used tobacco is significantly higher (19.2%) than among girls( 11.2%). There are, however, some gains noted as tobacco advertising is less explicit than it was previously. For instance, there are virtually no billboards advertising tobacco products, although Point of Sale (POS) violations do stand out prominently. The findings of this report on Uganda's compliance with the FCTC with specific regard to Articles 8 and 13 on "protection from exposure to second-hand smoke" and "tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship (TAPS)" respectively, suggests that there are glaring gaps in the implementation of the Convention that

Uganda ratified in June 2007.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATIONS ........................................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL .................................................................................................................................... ii

1CRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. v

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ l

1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1

1.4 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 4

1.5 Objectives of the study .............................................................................................................. 4

1.5.1 General Objective ................................................................................................................... 5

1.15.2 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................... 5

1.7 Significance of the study ........................................................................................................... 5

1.8 Scope of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 5

' 1.9 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.10 Research Limitation .............................................................................................................. 15

1.11 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 15

1.15.1 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................... 16

1.15.2 Type ofData ....................................................................................................................... 16

1.16.0 Chapterisation ..................................................................................................................... 17

1.17 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 17

CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................................... IS

THE ORIGIN OF TOBACCO CULTIVATION AND USE IN UGANDA ........................... IS

.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 18

2.2 Tobacco consumption .............................................................................................................. 18

2.2 Distribution of tobacco seed .................................................................................................... 19

2.3 Declaration of markets ............................................................................................................ 20

2.4 Regulations .............................................................................................................................. 21

iii

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 22

3.0 THE REVIEW OF LAWS REGULATING TOBACCO CULTIVATION AND

CONSUMPTION AND THEIR ROLE IN THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES .............. 22

3.1 Existing legal and Policy Framework in Uganda .................................................................... 25

3.3 Enforcement of TAPS in Uganda ............................................................................................ 28

3.4 Point of Sale Violations ........................................................................................................... 29

3.5 Advertising, Sponsorship and promotional events .................................................................. 29

3.5 Milestones ............................................................................................................................... 32

3.6 Challenges ............................................................................................................................... 33

3.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................... 35

4.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAWS REGULATING

TOBACCO CULTIVATION AND CONSUMPTION AND WHETHER THEY HAVE

DONE THEIR WORK OR FAILED IN DELIVERING THEIR WORK. ........................... 35

' 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 35

4.2 Research Findings ................................................................................................................... 35

CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 37

OBSERVATIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................... 37

5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 37

5.2 Observations ............................................................................................................................ 37

5.3 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 42

5.4 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 45

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................ 50