A Democracy and Development Fellow (Health) at the Ghana Center For Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Kwame Sarpong Asiedu, has urged government to take pragmatic action to prevent youth tobacco addiction.

He stated that government should not wait for the issue to escalate before seeking solutions.

The medical practitioner expressed concern about the increasing prevalence of shisha and tobacco-flavoured drink joints, which are becoming more common.

“You realize that even though the prevalence rate is 5% in adults, studies are telling us that one in three of our youth have tried these tobacco products, which means if we don't do something about it, it's going to get worse,” he said on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday.

“If you look at the economic burden, it's estimated by the American Cancer Society that it costs us $100 million because obviously, you are getting lung cancers, respiratory diseases, and all the associated diseases due to tobacco smoke.”

Last year, Ningo Prampram MP Samuel Nartey George attributed the rise in kidney-related diseases in Ghana partly to irresponsible lifestyle choices among the youth.

According to the lawmaker, while some people suffer from kidney diseases through no fault of their own, the majority of cases are caused by poor lifestyle choices such as reckless smoking of weed, shisha, cigarettes, and other hard drugs in the name of fashion.

In an interview with Benjamin Akakpo on Joy News, Sam George pointed to areas like East Legon and other parts of Accra where young people publicly display drug use without regard for the health consequences.

On June 13, this year the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD Ghana) called on the Health Ministry and Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to ban the smoking of shisha in Ghana.

Read also: Outlaw shisha; regulating not enough – VALD to MoH, FDA

In a press statement, it called for the FDA to investigate the source of the shisha after a viral video showed students from Sunyani Senior High School smoking the substance.

Kwame Sarpong Asiedu acknowledged that Ghana has made strides in combating tobacco smoking, but he believes the issue remains a hidden problem.

“Among the adults who smoke, they do so privately rather than do it in public for you to see it and counsel them about it. And so we need to get a bit intrusive,” he said.

Quoting Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew, Kwame Sarpong Asiedu noted that Singapore would not have achieved its current status without intrusive measures.

He said the leader then faced criticism for intervening in people's private lives.

“But if he hadn’t looked into how people live, who their neighbours are, how they spit, etc., they wouldn't have gotten to where they are today,” he said.

Kwame Sarpong Asiedu insists that addressing this issue should be a priority for any political party seeking to lead the country as part of their health manifesto.