Mozambique: Tobacco related diseases kill over 9000 every year

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Mozambique: Tobacco related diseases kill over 9000 every year

8:13 CAT | 19 Mar 2025

According to Alny Couto, tobacco consumption causes annually 11.7 billion meticais (176.9 million dollars at the current exchange rate) in direct and indirect economic losses, equivalent to 1.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [Photo: AIM]

Mozambique’s deputy director of public health, Aleny Couto, on Monday announced that the country records 9,300 deaths from diseases associated with tobacco consumption every year.

According to Couto, who was speaking during the launch ceremony of a report on the dangers of tobacco, this figure represents 3.5 percent of all deaths reported in the country.

The report points out that 73 percent of the victims are adults over the age of 70 and 14 percent of tobacco-related deaths are passive smokers.

According to Couto, tobacco consumption causes annually 11.7 billion meticais (176.9 million dollars at the current exchange rate) in direct and indirect economic losses, equivalent to 1.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Couto believes that “if we invest now in tobacco control measures it will be possible to save 53,300 lives and 45 billion meticais in health costs and economic losses by the year 2037”.

“The results show that 900 million meticais were invested in health-related expenses and 10.8 billion in indirect economic losses due to premature deaths, illnesses and smoking breaks at the workplace”, she said.

For her part, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Severin Xylandea, said that tobacco is one of the main preventable causes of illness and death and that there is a need to expand national efforts to control tobacco in the country.

WHO recommends the urgent approval of the Law for Tobacco Control in Mozambique for the defence of public health in Mozambique.

According to Xylandea, the measures proposed include adopting comprehensive and effective legislation, increasing taxes on tobacco products and making them less accessible, especially for young people.

Other measures proposed are a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, the adoption of standardized packaging and more effective health warnings.

The benefits of strict legislation go far beyond health. Worldwide experience shows that tobacco control measures result “in improvements in the national economy, increased productivity and a reduction in the burden on the health system.”

“By prioritizing this agenda, Mozambique will not only save lives, but will also strengthen its sustainable development path,’ she said.

Source: AIM