Egypt bans waterpipes and ramps up health awareness during COVID-19

Introduction

egy_tob_and_covid The Government of Egypt has setup the Higher Committee for Novel Coronavirus Crisis Management in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee is tasked with following-up on the implementation of precautionary measures to face the COVID-19 pandemic and develop emergency plans to address any situation arising during the crisis. The Ministry of Health and Population is ramping up health awareness activities during this critical period. Tobacco control was among the priority COVID-19 relevant awareness areas, focusing on a number of tobacco control interventions, such as: enforcing a ban on waterpipes (locally known as shisha) use in public places, running awareness campaigns on deleterious health impact of tobacco use especially during the pandemic, renewing pictorial health warnings on all tobacco products, finalizing the review of tobacco control law and approving accession of Egypt to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

Ban on waterpipes in public places

The Egyptian Ministry of Local Development issued a statement, on 15 March 2020, to all governorates covering the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as per the Ministry of Health and Population and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations in this regard. On the top of these precautionary measures was banning waterpipes in all cafés. In the first few days of implementing the ban, there were some violations which were met with hefty fines reaching up to 40 000 Egyptian Pounds (USD 2500), closures and confiscation of waterpipes. Shortly after the ban, cafés were closed due to lockdown restrictions. Currently, cafés have reopened with social distancing rules and a capacity of 50%, however, the ban on waterpipes continues.

Awareness campaigns during COVID-19

The Ministry of Health and Population has run a nationwide campaign on awareness and precautionary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Part of this campaign was directed at highlighting the link between tobacco use and the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. Within this campaign, the Ministry used its social media platforms and mobile application, Egypt Health (Sehat Masr), to disseminate its messages widely.

In tandem, the Ministry of Social Solidarity in collaboration with WHO, ran a campaign featuring celebrities in short videos focusing on banning waterpipes. The campaign highlighted the relationship between the use of waterpipes and the spread of COVID-19, calling on individuals to abstain from waterpipe use to protect themselves from the risk of infection. The Ministry disseminated these videos widely on social media platforms.

The Ministry of Health and Population has mitigated misinformation promoted by tobacco companies which claimed that smoking protects individuals from contracting the virus that causes COVID-19. The Ministry put out information clarifying the falseness of these claims to the public. In addition, the Ministry of Health and Population, through its tobacco control focal points spread across the 27 governorates, has managed to run awareness sessions on COVID-19 and the risks associated with smoking. These sessions have been very successful and contributed to curbing the spread of COVID-19 across Egypt.

Renewing pictorial health warnings

The Ministry of Health and Population has worked closely with WHO to select the new set of pictorial health warnings that will be placed on all tobacco products, in line with requirements of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the next two years. The set consists of four well selected pictures that can be adopted and applied on all forms of tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, according to the latest developments in this regard in the Egyptian market.

The new pictorial health warnings will occupy a space of 50% of the display area of the tobacco product pack, which is higher than the typical 30%. They will come into effect as of 1 January 2021, with a grace period of 6 months within 2020, for tobacco companies to allow them to use up their stocks.

Finalizing the review of the national tobacco control law

WHO has worked closely with the Ministry of Health and Population to revise the national tobacco control Law and propose the needed various amendments, which can have a significant impact on the prevalence of tobacco use in the country. The law has been revised by a legal expert to address existing gaps and ensure that it is comprehensive as outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The legal expert will also propose a bylaw and a national strategy on the mechanism for implementing these amendments.

In conjunction with this, WHO in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Population has successfully completed a limited survey about compliance with tobacco control legislations.

Approval of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products

After several years of joint multisectoral collaboration between Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Customs Authority and WHO three levels, the Egyptian Cabinet has approved the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products after His Excellency President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi approval. The Protocol will help to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products which will protect Egyptian population health and economy from the deleterious consequences of illicit trade.

The Protocol has been discussed in a special session by the Egyptian Parliament and consensus of approval has been reached. Following this, the Egyptian Mission in New York will sign the Protocol on behalf of Egypt. Egypt will be the seventh country in the Region to get accession and enter into signatory.

Way forward

Future plans include submitting these amendments, bylaws and national strategies for Her Excellency Minister of Health and Population for her approval and start of implementation. Also translating the same documents into English in order to share them with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control experts for their views. There are plans in place to create a platform for the Egyptian Observatory for the Tobacco Industry. This platform will ensure that the activities of the Observatory are sustained and will enable the effective monitoring of the tobacco industry’s tactics. Moreover, there are plans to support tobacco cessation clinics all over the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Population to encourage tobacco users to quit in this critical time.