Accra: The Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development, Ghana (VAST Ghana), a civil society organization, has commended three key institutions for their swift intervention in seizing quantities of the unregistered product 'Cigarette Rod Lollipop' at Accra's Central Business District and Makola Market. These institutions include the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the Ghana Police Service, and National Security, who have also arrested a suspect in connection with the incident.
According to Ghana News Agency, VAST Ghana, through a statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Labram Musah, has called for nationwide enforcement and laboratory testing of the product to ensure the protection of children. The cigarette-shaped candy has sparked significant public concern given that the FDA has confirmed the product is unregistered and its composition unknown, advising the public against its purchase and consumption.
The statement emphasized the need for continued vigilance beyond the initial confiscation and arrest, urging the FDA to extend its surveillance and enforcement efforts nationwide. Additionally, it highlighted the necessity of strengthening border controls to prevent further importation of similar products and conducting laboratory analyses of the seized samples to ascertain their chemical makeup and inform the public.
VAST Ghana highlighted the industry's tactics in designing products that mimic harmful goods like cigarettes to influence young consumers, despite Ghana's smoking rate being under five percent. This is seen as an effort to recruit a new generation of users using strategies specifically designed to attract young people.
The statement also referenced the World Health Organization's (WHO) themes for World No Tobacco Day in 2025 and 2026, which aim to expose such industry tactics. The sale of confectionery resembling tobacco products is viewed as a public health threat and a potential violation of Ghana's Tobacco Control Law, specifically referencing sections of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), which prohibit the sale and marketing of products that mimic tobacco products.
VAST Ghana reiterated the need for legal safeguards that align with Article 16 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, requiring Parties to prohibit the manufacture and sale of products that appeal to minors in the form of tobacco products.