Seychelles has ratified the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) and work has started to prepare a Tobacco Control Act.

In line with this commitment, the Ministry of Health has ordered nicotine replacement therapy worth USD15,000 which the ministry will give to people who wish to stop smoking.

As with other forms of treatment, this therapy will be offered free of charge.

The head of the unit for cardiovascular disease prevention and control, Dr. Pascal Bovet said this earlier this week, adding that Seychelles has become the fifth country to ratify the convention after Norway, Malta, Fiji and Sri Lanka, and therefore the first in the Africa region to do so.

"We have already fulfilled most of the requirements of the convention because there is no advertising of tobacco in Seychelles' media and tax on tobacco products is as high as 65 percent," he said.

He said about 22 per cent of Seychellois smoke, these being about 35 percent of men and 10 percent of females. He said the ministry will carry out a survey next year to find out exactly what the situation is in the country.

77 countries have in fact signed the convention which requires countries to have laws demanding that cigarette packets carry the warning that tobacco is harmful on no less than 30 percent of the surface areas, but 40 countries need to actually ratify it for it to go into force.

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