The Gambia is paying a heavy price for its tobacco habit—literally. According to Omar Conteh, Head of the Tobacco Industry Monitoring Team at RAID–The Gambia, the country spends an estimated 14.4 billion dalasis annually on cigarettes. With nearly 400,800 smokers consuming almost four million cigarettes daily, this is not just a public health issue—it is a massive economic drain.
Tobacco use is concentrated among men aged 25–44, with 31 percent reporting regular use, while shisha use among schoolchildren aged 12–20 sits at 8.4 percent. Even more alarming, exposure to second-hand smoke affects two-thirds of adults in public places, while 61.8 percent of children aged 13–15 are exposed in enclosed public spaces. These figures paint a grim picture of a population under siege from the harmful effects of nicotine addiction.
Despite The Gambia’s commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the tobacco industry continues to undermine public health. Through lobbying, misleading economic claims, and corporate social responsibility campaigns, it prioritizes profit over people’s well-being. The promotion of so-called “harm reduction” products such as vapes, e-cigarettes, and shisha only serves to sustain addiction and attract a younger generation of users, threatening progress on tobacco control.
There is an irreconcilable conflict between the interests of the tobacco industry and the health of Gambians. Stronger government action is urgently needed—measures such as higher taxes, stricter advertising bans, and robust public education campaigns can curb consumption and reduce exposure to second-hand smoke.
Every cigarette smoked comes at a cost—not just to the smoker, but to families, communities, and the nation. The Gambia cannot afford to ignore this threat any longer. Protecting public health must take precedence over the tobacco industry’s profits.