Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli must harmonize anti-smoking fight

Physicians from Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya have issued a solemn appeal for a harmonized regional strategy to combat the escalating tobacco epidemic in the Maghreb. Meeting in Tunis on June 2, 2026, organized by the medical platform med.tn, the doctors underscored the critical need for coordinated action to address the alarming rates of smoking, which affects over 1.3 billion people globally and causes eight million deaths annually.

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a regional strategy harmonized is an absolute urgency.

In the Maghreb region, the problem is particularly acute, with children as young as ten starting to smoke, straining healthcare systems and exacerbating inequalities. The medical professionals advocate for aligned tax policies, the provision of free nicotine replacement therapies, robust social media awareness campaigns, and the mobilization of all relevant ministries.

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The coordinated increase in tobacco prices is the most effective measure, but it fails if it is not synchronized between the three countries.

A key recommendation is the coordinated increase of tobacco prices, identified as the most effective measure. However, this strategy falters if not synchronized across the three countries. Dr. Dhaker Lahidheb, a Tunisian cardiologist, pointed out that cigarette packs are most expensive in Tunisia compared to Libya and Algeria, fueling organized trafficking and undermining the collective fight against smoking.

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This disparity causes organized trafficking and weakens the entire fight.

The doctors stressed that revenue from increased taxes should be directed towards social security and health insurance. Professor Souad Bouaoud, an epidemiologist from Algiers, highlighted the significant return on investment in prevention, estimating that every dollar spent on prevention saves one hundred dollars in cardiology and pneumology costs. A primary focus is preventing addiction before adulthood, as the tobacco industry deliberately targets adolescents. Studies show that by age twenty, 20 percent of young men are already smokers, and in Algeria, 25 percent of students aged eleven to nineteen smoke, with some starting before age ten. Existing laws prohibiting sales to minors are widely disregarded, with children often sent to purchase cigarettes for adults.

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a dollar dedicated to prevention saves one hundred dollars in cardiology and pneumology.