23 Mar 2021

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe says Botswana signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003 and ratified the same in 2005.

He said government had introduced the Tobacco Control Bill which was approved by cabinet in February 2021 and was published in the Government Gazette.

The assistant minister said the alignment of the new law to the FCTC would address issues regarding point of sale advertising as well as cross border advertising. He also said Botswana would be able to regulate the contents of tobacco products, packaging and labelling, including pictorial health warnings. Furthermore, he said the country would facilitate the provision of protection for its people from tobacco smoke and prohibitions of smoking in public places.

Mr Lelatisitswe said the law would reinforce tobacco control policies against adverse commercial and other interests of the tobacco industry. He said 20 per cent of his ministry’s budget went to curative treatment which included treatment of all preventable diseases and non-preventable diseases and conditions.

The assistant minister further said 17 per cent of the allocated budget went into prevention interventions, saying the ministry did not  have enough resources for prevention services due to budgetary constraints.

Jwaneng/Mabutsane MP, Mr Mephato Reatile had asked the minister when Botswana ratified the FCTC. He also wanted to know when the convention would be domesticated and if there were any benefits. MP Reatile also wanted to know the amount of the ministry’s budget allocated to treating preventable terminal diseases. He further wanted to know the amount spent on prevention interventions and whether enough resources were being used.ends