Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
13 March 2025 | 14:00 CAT
2 min read

The tobacco industry is aggressively marketing e-cigarettes and nicotine products to Africa’s youth, exploiting regulatory gaps and framing them as so-called safer alternatives. Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, head of the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, warns that this strategy poses a significant public health risk across the continent.

Speaking to Radio Islam, Prof Ayo-Yusuf explained that Africa’s youth have become a prime target for the tobacco industry due to demographic trends. “It’s a business model. Smoking usually starts when people are young. You hardly find old people starting to smoke,” he said.

While youth populations in Europe and Latin America have plateaued or declined, Africa is projected to have around 400 million young people aged 15 to 24 by 2050. “In Europe, that number is just about 50 million, and in East Asia, it’s dropping from 250 million to about 150 million,” he said.

He highlighted that the African youth is the target. “They have not been able to get them to smoke for a long time. The next strategy is to get them hooked on fashionable nicotine,” he added.

Many tobacco companies claim e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are safer than traditional smoking. However, Prof Ayo-Yusuf cautioned against this assumption. “Indeed, e-cigarettes have lower exposure compared to cigarette smoke. But anything compared to cigarette smoke will come out a winner. If you compare it to not smoking at all, you see a significant risk to the person using it,” he said.

His research in South Africa, which surveyed over 18,000 people, found that e-cigarette users who quit smoking often relapsed within six months. “In South Africa, it’s suppressing cessation. Young people who were not smoking before are the ones actually starting. This is a bigger risk to public health,” he said.

The tobacco industry’s influence extends to public health policies, particularly in developing countries. Prof Ayo-Yusuf noted that South Africa used to be a global benchmark for tobacco control, but not in the last ten years. Weak regulatory systems and political corruption have allowed the industry to infiltrate policymaking.

“The industry bribes politicians for privileges and access to decision-making rooms. They also influence the media to shape public opinion. Sometimes, they even take journalists and politicians on overseas trips,” he said.

He also pointed to evidence that the illicit cigarette trade in South Africa is linked to the tobacco industry itself. “Most of those cigarettes are manufactured in the same factories as legal cigarettes. They simply evade tax, making them cheaper,” he added.

To combat these tactics, Prof Ayo-Yusuf helped establish the Africa Center for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research. “It’s not enough to regulate cigarettes. We must monitor the industry’s tactics,” he said.

The center has developed an online course to train advocates and government officials across Africa. “We’ve trained over 250 people across 12 countries, helping them recognise when the industry is influencing policy,” he said.

Prof Ayo-Yusuf asserts that research and science must shape public health policies, not corporate interests.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, head of the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, here.