A report by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has revealed that some 53.5 per cent of tobacco on the Ghanaian market is illicit.

The research, carried out by the School of Public Health of the university on the theme: ‘Tobacco control capacity programme dissemination and engagement’, was conducted during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic at the country's border towns.

Speaking at a forum to launch the report, a research fellow of the Tobacco Control Programme, Dr Arte Singh, said the findings are worrying and reflective of the non-compliance to border restrictions.

He wants the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the government to expedite action on the ratification of the tobacco protocols.

Meanwhile, the FDA said plans are far-advanced to see the implementations and enforcement of illicit tobacco protocol treaty, which will be incorporated into the UN conventions.

This was disclosed by Ms Olivia Agyekumwaa Boateng, the Chief Regulatory Officer and Head of Tobacco and Substance Abuse Department of the FDA.