Rebuttal: Public health cannot be negotiated away

By Derrick Sinjela

Tobacco Free Association of Zambia (TOFAZA) Tobacco Control Communications Specialist Francis Lungu  described the call by Action Institute for Policy Analysis Centre (AIPAC) Executive Director Solomon Ngoma to withdraw the Tobacco Control Bill 2025 as misplaced on account of placing profits above the lives and well-being of Zambians.

Urging parliamentarians to ignore AIPAC’s unresearched position, Mr. Lungu insisted that tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death globally, linked to cancer, heart, and chronic respiratory diseases.

Lungu noted that any legislation aimed at reducing harms of tobacco is not an attack on livelihoods but a necessary defense of human life.

“AIPAC’s argument that the Bill is “punitive” ignores a fundamental truth: strong laws save lives. Warning labels, advertising restrictions, and enforcement measures are globally recognized tools under the United Nations World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (UN-WHO-FCTC), to which Zambia is a signatory, since Friday, 23rd May, 2008. Let us be clear: tobacco is not an ordinary commodity,” advised Lungu.

Lungu implored the Zambian Government to protect citizens from harmful products on account of evidence based on devastating and well-documented harms of tobacco.

“These are not foreign impositions – they are evidence-based protections. The suggestion that requiring health warnings or regulating sales “threatens freedoms” is misleading. There is no freedom in addiction. There is no freedom in premature death,” cautioned Lungu.

While acknowledging that the tobacco industry contributes to the economy, Lungu regretted that Zambia annually spends K2.8 billion treating tobacco related illnesses.

“But at what cost? The healthcare burden of treating tobacco-related illnesses, lost productivity, and premature deaths far outweigh any short-term economic gains. A nation cannot build sustainable prosperity on a product that sickens its people. The livelihoods argument, while important, should not be used to justify inaction. Instead, it should push policymakers toward supporting farmers and workers to transition to safer and more sustainable alternatives,” explained Lungu.

Lungu petitioned that protecting jobs must always go hand-in-hand with protecting lives, not sacrificing one for the other.

Lungu viewed the call for ‘more consultation’ with caution as Zambia has debated tobacco control for close to two decades (18 years).

“Continued delays only serve the interests of the tobacco industry while more citizens fall victim to preventable diseases. The Tobacco Control Bill 2025 is not about punishment – it is about prevention. It is about ensuring that future generations are not trapped in cycles of addiction and illness. In the end, the choice is simple: Zambia can protect profits, or it can protect its people. Public health must come first-because no economic argument can outweigh the value of a human life,” Lungu explained.

Lungu is amused that the same tobacco industry players cannot allow their own children and family members to consume tobacco products and yet they want to continue making profits by addicting other young people – a double standard described as grossly unfair.

Lungu reiterated that the Tobacco Control Bill No. 40 of 2025 must pass and be enacted into the Zambian law to save lives.
Lungu was responding to a Tuesday, 17th March, 2026 Press Release in which AIPAC Executive Director Mr. Ngoma strongly appealed to the Government of Zambia to withdraw the proposed Tobacco Control Bill 2025 and subject it to wider consultation and dialogue with stakeholders.