The Minister of Health, Mr Mintah Akandoh, has called on stakehold­ers to collaborate effectively with the Ministry, and other institutions to eliminate tobacco and nicotine use in the country, in view of the health threat it posed to the citizen­ry especially the youth.Mr Akandoh said the time had come for Ghanaians to confront the misleading attraction of tobac­co products, and to reveal the cruel realities behind marketing and con­sumption, saying the tobacco in­dustry had over the years employed aggressive tactics to make smoking seem fashionable, and harmless.The Minister of Health said this yesterday in a speech read for him at the 2025 national commemora­tion of the World No Tobacco Day in Ho on the theme: "Unmasking the appeal; Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products."Mr Akandoh stressed that tobac­co use was a major public health threat, and its impact on human health could not be overempha­sized.He said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), tobacco use was the leading cause of non-communicable diseases, which was responsible for more than eight million deaths across the world yearly.Mr Akandoh said available statis­tics showed that 5,574 people died annually in Ghana as a result of tobacco related illnesses including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders and stroke.According to him, the growing trend among the youth, who were involved in smoking at an average age of 18 years should be a matter of concern to all stakeholders, adding that additional smoking of what was called ''shisha'' was another rising concern including second-hand smoking exposure which also remained a devel­opment problem particularly at workplaces.The Acting Chairperson, Public Health Committee of the Pharma­ceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH), Dr Ruby Biaku, said the devastat­ing effects of tobacco use made her outfit and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) collaborate to deal with tobacco use and related abuse cases in the country.Dr Biaku said as part of the collaborative efforts, the PSGH organised a training programme for pharmacists to focus on prevent­ing the misuse and diversion of controlled medicines, which she stressed was an essential step to­wards safeguarding the public from substance abuse.She said PSGH in collaboration with the FDA embarked on edu­cational activities in marketplaces, and tertiary institutions, where they educated students on the dangers involved in tobacco and substance abuse, and said the increasing number of the youth using tobacco and nicotine should be of a major concern to all.The Deputy Non-Communica­ble Disease Control Programme Officer of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Naomi Apea, said primary healthcare (PHC) remained the key to tackling the threats posed by tobacco use and other risk factors for tobacco interventions would be integrated into every day healthcare services, which included regular screening, and counselling on tobacco use at the Out Patient Department (OPD). FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, HO