Accra: The Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development, Ghana (VAST-Ghana) has issued a recommendation to the Ministry of Health to urgently establish a formal enforceable code of conduct aimed at restricting interactions between public officials and the tobacco industry. The recommendation calls for operationalising Section 18 of the 2016 Tobacco Control Regulations (LI 2247) to provide clear guidelines for public officers, contractors, and consultants, aligning with Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
According to Ghana News Agency, the recommendation was part of the Ghana 2025 Tobacco Industry Interference Index Report, launched by VAST-Ghana in Accra in March 2026. The report aims to address the tobacco challenge in the country. It highlighted that despite the 2016 Tobacco Control Regulations granting the Minister of Health the authority to issue a code of conduct for public officials and service providers, no such code has been established yet.
The report further noted that while Section 17 of L.I 2247 provides some guidance on restricting interactions with the tobacco industry, it lacks comprehensiveness and enforceability. It also recommended that government officials be required to publicly report and disclose any form of engagement or interaction with the tobacco industry, with disclosures made available on official websites or other public platforms to promote accountability and prevent undue influence in policymaking.
Additionally, the report urged the Ministry to mandate the tobacco industry to publicly disclose comprehensive information regarding its operations through easily accessible platforms, such as official websites. This disclosure should include data on market shares, revenues, profits, tax exemptions, and any other privileges or incentives received from the government.
The report also called on the Ministry to initiate regional discussions to review and amend current fiscal measures that indirectly benefit the tobacco sector. These measures include the FOB discount, duty-free allowances at the ECOWAS level, and exemptions from import duties for tobacco goods.
In the 2025 Global Tobacco Index (GTI), Ghana was ranked 38th out of 100 countries and 11th out of 20 African countries implementing laws to curb tobacco industry interference. The GTI is a report published by a civil society that assesses compliance with the guidelines for implementing FCTC Article 5.3, adopted in 2008 by countries.