The government should put high taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, according to Breast Care International (BCI), a member of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), in order to promote the battle against cancer.
Heavy tariffs on alcohol and cigarettes will deter their usage, according to Dr. Beatrice Wiafe-Addai, President of BCI, helping to reduce the number of cancer cases in Ghana.
Nearly half of the nine million cancer cases that were reported in 2019 worldwide were fatal due to some of the most important modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol use, and having a high body mass index.
Dr. Wiafe-Addai stated during a forum held in Kumasi to commemorate World Cancer Day that taxes levied on the goods may be used by the government to build more facilities to fight cancer in the nation.
She claimed that there is a need for government assistance because numerous healthcare facilities around the nation lack the equipment required to identify and treat cancer, such as mammography machines.
“The UICC suggested to us to also speak to our government to increase taxes on cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and others to discourage the youth from using them. And when the government put on these taxes it will help it (government) get more money to support the cancer control mechanisms in the country,” Dr Wiafe-Addai said.
Concern regarding Ghana’s inadequate access to cancer treatment facilities was also voiced by Dr. Beatrice Wiafe-Addai.
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She argued that the government should build more cancer treatment centers around the nation outside of the regional hospitals in order to effectively and efficiently combat the illnesses at an early stage and close the care gap.
Dr. Samuel Amanamah, a consultant urologist at the Kumasi South Hospital, claimed that ignorance is one of the major reasons why patients with advanced prostate cancer cases are prevalent in hospitals.
According to him, the activities of herbalists and pastors on radio and television have further inflamed the problem and there is an urgent need for assistance.
“People are out there selling all sorts of drugs in that it improves people’s urination, maybe some of the drugs will improve your urination but the issue is that what is that drug treating because for you to be able to treat any disease you must know exactly the disease that you are treating,” he noted.
The annual event, which is held on February 4th every year, aims to reduce preventable cancer-related deaths by increasing awareness and inspiring policymakers to take action to halt the devastation of the disease’s growth.
The task of planning the day’s worldwide commemoration falls to the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which is positioned to realize the goal of a cancer-free world expected in the year 2000 when the day was established at the world summit against cancer.
Source: Myjoyonline
