The Gambia’s Ministry of Health has raised concerns about the huge number of smokers in the country. The ministry explained that currently, there are 367,400 smokers in The Gambia.

Making this known in a Facebook post, the ministry said this has a huge economic burden on the citizenry because in total, they spend 6.6 billion dalasis (over 97,000 dollars) annually on cigarettes.

The ministry stated that, quote “This economic burden could lead to loss of productivity, increased healthcare expenditures, reduced quality of life, and financial strain on potential medical costs.

Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you can make for your health and well-being,” unquote. In total, nearly 17% of the total population of Gambia are smokers.