Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
23 October 2024 | 10:20 CAT
2-minute read

Image credit: BusinessTech

A study conducted by a team of researchers from across the globe found that banning tobacco sales to people born between 2006 and 2010 could significantly reduce global lung cancer mortality.

Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, head of the University of Pretoria’s School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) and part of the team of researchers, said the study found that almost 11 000 lives could be saved in South Africa alone if the government were to implement the endgame strategy of banning cigarette sales to the cohort.

Professor Ayo-Yusuf, who is also the director of the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), joined researchers from Spain, France, New Zealand, the USA, China and Brazil in conducting the global simulation study of 650 million people, which predicts that 40% of 1,1 million global lung cancer deaths could be prevented by 2095 if a tobacco-free generation were achieved.

Speaking to Radio Islam International, Professor Ayo-Yusuf said that the tobacco endgame was suggested at the 2012 World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCToH) held in Singapore to improve tobacco control and prompted the researchers to conduct the study.

“There was no study on how much lives that [endgame concept] could save. That is why we thought about increasing the momentum of the thinking by giving government some empirical data of what you can actually do differently,” Professor Ayo-Yusuf said.

The researchers estimated that 650 million people were born between 2006 and 2010, and then, based on the correlation between smoking and lung cancer deaths, extracted lung cancer mortality data. Statistical software was used to work out the number of deaths that would occur if current smoking trends and lung cancer treatment remained the same.

The study recommends implementing tobacco-control measures, including a tobacco-free generation to achieve the tobacco endgame.

The study has important implications for South Africa, which has the highest daily smoking rate in sub-Saharan Africa. Professor Ayo-Yusuf urges the South African government to move forward with tobacco control legislation.

“The tobacco industry has been opposing passing the bill. And we think government should look at the future generation and not look at the profit of an industry,” Professor Ayo-Yusuf said, adding that revenue could be generated through other goods while creating healthier jobs.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.