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Monitoring compliance with Senegal’s tobacco products packaging and labelling requirements 6 months after implementation of the law
  1. Mamadou Bamba Sagna1,
  2. Mary Clare Rosemeyer2,
  3. Oumar Ba3,
  4. Fatou Diouf4,
  5. Karoline Walter2,
  6. Bintou Camara Bityeki2,
  7. Maria G Carmona2,
  8. Ernesto Marcelo Sebrie2
  1. 1 Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Dakar, Senegal
  2. 2 Department of International Research, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Washington, DC, USA
  3. 3 National Tobacco Control Program, Government of Senegal Ministry of Health and Social Action, Dakar, Senegal
  4. 4 Framework Convention Alliance, Dakar, Senegal
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ernesto Marcelo Sebrie, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Washington, USA; esebrie{at}tobaccofreekids.org

Abstract

Introduction As of December 2021, 22 countries and one jurisdiction in WHO African Region (AFRO) have adopted pictorial health warning labels on tobacco packaging, but only 13 have implemented them. In 2014, Senegal enacted a comprehensive tobacco control law, which requires strong provisions on tobacco packaging and labelling. The objective of this study was to assess the level of compliance with these provisions in Senegal 6 months after implementation.

Methods Data collection took place in Senegal’s capital city of Dakar across 12 districts in February 2018, following the Tobacco Pack Surveillance System Field Protocol developed by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Unique tobacco packs were purchased from a total of 48 tobacco vendors, and compliance with new packaging and labelling provisions was assessed.

Results In total, seven unique cigarette packs were confirmed to be legally available for sale in Dakar, Senegal. All packs complied with all health warning provisions (type, size, location, language and quitline information) as well as bans on quantitative emissions yields. However, no pack complied with the descriptive constituents and emissions statement required on the lateral side, and four of the seven packs violated the ban on misleading brand descriptors.

Conclusions AFRO countries have made substantial progress in adopting comprehensive tobacco control laws that bring them closer into alignment with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This study found areas of effective implementation of FCTC recommended packaging and labelling requirements, as well as areas in need of stronger enforcement.

  • low/middle income country
  • surveillance and monitoring
  • packaging and labelling

https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056973

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors MBS, OB, FD, KW and EMS conceptualised the study. MBS, OB, FD, KW and EMS coordinated data collection. MBS, MCR, BCB, MGC and EMS prepared the first and subsequent drafts of the manuscript. OB, FD and KW contributed to revisions of the paper.

    • Funding This study was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.