2023 WNTD: We must switch from tobacco farming to nutritious crop cultivation – Health Minister

Ghana Health Minister, Hon Kwaku Agyeman-Manu

The Ministry of Health has issued a press release to mark the 2023 World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).

In its release, the Ministry stressed the need for a focus on crop cultivation, insisting that efforts must be intensified to end tobacco farming.

“The switch from tobacco farming to nutritious crop cultivation will not only make food available in abundance for people across the nation but also improve the livelihood of farmers in the world at large,” parts of the Ministry of Health’s press release said on Wednesday, May 31.

World No Tobacco Day is commemorated around the World every year on May 31 to emphasize the harmful effects of tobacco products on people's health.

This year, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), World Health Organization, Ghana Health Service, Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), and other Civil Society Organisations join in with the focus on growing sustainable food crops instead of tobacco.

The theme for this year's commemoration is "We Need Food, Not Tobacco."

World No Tobacco Day 2023 serves as an opportunity to mobilize governments and policymakers to support the implementation of tobacco control laws and policies across the country.

This campaign also calls on civil society, academia, the media, and all individuals to support the government of Ghana in developing suitable strategies with the ultimate aim of creating a tobacco-free society.

Read the full release from the Ministry of Health below: