While international media outlets are enthusiastically reporting the results of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2025, which predict a decrease of more than 25% in tobacco consumption among adults in Senegal, the Senegalese League Against Tobacco (LISTAB) strongly disagrees. According to its president, Amadou Moustapha Gaye, these statistics—which put the prevalence at 4.4%—are not only erroneous but deeply misleading.

For LISTAB, claiming a historic decline is pure and simple disinformation. President Gaye maintains that tobacco is omnipresent, infiltrating all levels of society, including minors. He describes a country transformed into an "open-air smoking area," where the law of March 14, 2014, is systematically flouted. According to him, people now smoke without any qualms in hospitals, administrative buildings, restaurants, and nightclubs.

This abdication of authority is illustrated by alarming figures: between 400 and 600 shisha bars have been counted in Dakar. Added to this is the easy access young people have to e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine sachets. "How can we talk about a decline when young people aged 10 to 18 are vaping openly?" he asks, pointing to sales outlets even in front of schools.

The core of LISTAB's anger lies in the deliberate or accidental obstruction of the administrative process. Several essential decrees, notably the one regulating tobacco retail outlets, have been pending for over five years. For Amadou Moustapha Gaye, "a law without implementing decrees is a dead law."

Senegal, despite being a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) since 2005, is accused of violating its international commitments. LISTAB denounces the lack of implementation of the MPOWER program and condemns the tobacco industry's interference in health policies, in violation of Article 5.3 of the convention. The lack of traceability mechanisms, required by ECOWAS and WAEMU, reinforces this sense of impunity.

Taxation deemed negligible

Even the recent increase in the specific tax on tobacco, from 65% to 70% in the 2026 Finance Law (or 2025, depending on the context), fails to convince activists. For Amadou Moustapha Gaye, this 5% increase is a token gesture, a "smokescreen" intended for international public opinion, while the law itself is not being enforced.

In conclusion, LISTAB firmly rejects the notion that Senegal is a model for tobacco control, placing it instead at the back of the African pack. It demands a reassessment of the GATS 2025 data through independent surveys and urges the authorities to end their inaction and stop sacrificing public health to economic interests.