Author: Ms Lungile Mavundla For decades, public health advocates celebrated major victories against smoking in South Africa. Strict tobacco control laws reduced cigarette advertising, smoking became less socially acceptable, and younger generations increasingly understood the dangers of tobacco use. But the tobacco industry did not disappear. Instead, it reinvented itself. Today, many South African schools no longer smell of cigarette smoke. Instead, school bathrooms and playgrounds are...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised Professor Olalekan Ayo-Yusuf among the recipients of the 2026 World No Tobacco Day Awards for the WHO African Region. Professor Ayo-Yusuf serves as Executive Director of the National Council Against Smoking and is widely recognised for his longstanding contributions to tobacco control research, public health advocacy, health systems strengthening, and policy development in South Africa and across the African region. The annual WHO World No...

Application Deadline: 8 May 2026