The Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development, Ghana, (VAST-Ghana) has recommended to the Ministry of Health to urgently issue a formal enforceable code of conduct to public officials to restrict them from interacting with the tobacco industry.
It said the Ministry could do so by operationalising Section 18 of the 2016 Tobacco Control Regulations (LI 2247) and that it should provide clear guidelines for all public officers, contractors, and consultants, in line with Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
The recommendation was in the Ghana 2025 Tobacco Industry Interference Index Report launched by VAST-Ghana in Accra, in March 2026, to support in confronting tobacco menace in the country.
The report said although the 2016 Tobacco Control Regulations gives the Minister of Health the authority to issue a code of conduct for public officials and service providers, no such code has been established.
It noted that Section 17 of the L.I 2247 provides some guidance on restricting interactions with the tobacco industry but lacks comprehensiveness and enforceability.
The report further recommended that government officials must be obligated to publicly report and disclose any form of engagement or interaction with the tobacco industry.
“Such disclosures should be made available on official websites or other public platforms to promote accountability and prevent undue influence in policymaking” it stated
It urged the Ministry to require the tobacco industry to publicly disclose comprehensive information regarding its operations through platforms that are easily accessible, such as official websites.
It said, “This should be on data on market shares, revenues, profits, tax exemptions, and any other privileges or incentives received from the government and must be included in the disclosure.”
It called on the Ministry to start regional discussions to examine and amend current fiscal measures that indirectly favour the tobacco sector such as the FOB discount, duty-free allowances at the ECOWAS level and the exemption from import duties for tobacco goods.
In the Global Tobacco Index (GTI) for 2025, Ghana was ranked 38th out of 100 countries and 11th out of 20 countries in Africa, which are implementing laws to address tobacco industry interference.
The GTI is a report published by a civil society that reviews compliance of the guidelines of the implementation of the FCTC Article 5.3 adopted in 2008 by countries.