'I blame my taba addiction for di loss of my pikin'

Warning: Dis tori fit turn belle

Aishatou (we don change her name to protect her identity) na widowed mother wey dey live for Gambia.

She tell di BBC say she don dey use 'taba' on and off for fifteen years, and she don turn to addict.

Taba na local name for tobacco powder wey men and women dey use for West Africa for decades. Plenti pipo dey take am by snorting, smoking or chewing.

But many women like Aishatou dey buy taba in secret and dey put di paste for dia vagina for different purposes.

We meet her wia she dey sit down in front of one nurse office for di community health centre, as she dey attend meeting for anti-taba campaigners, and she explain how she dey regret to start to dey use am.

*We don change di names of all di contributors wey share dia taba experiences

Traded among women for secret

Dem dey sell taba secretly through national network of dealers, many times for local market - women dey buy and sell am all ova di kontri.

Di original formula for taba don change for di past few years; di tobacco powder now dey mix wit different tins turning am to paste.

Wen Aishatou get belle for 2021, she bin know say she gatz stop to dey use am – like wetin she bin do during her previous pregnancies - but she no fit quit.

She blame her addiction for di tragic loss of dis last pregnancy and she believe say taba-use na wetin cause di baby death.

She go meet her doctor wen she realize say di baby don stop to dey move. "Di doctor tell me say [di baby] don die, so dem gatz do caesarean-section.

Wen dem bring my baby out, im skin dey look like wetin don burn. I know say na di taba wey I use kill my baby," she tok.

Dem neva verify her claim medically, but Aishatou say she dey always feel burning sensation for her vagina wenever she use taba.

Aishatou tok say she start to dey use taba some years back as she tink say e go help her lose weight and get pregnant. E no do any of dem.

"Wen taba enta your bodi, e go take ova and control you. You gatz dey use am to feel normal. Taba dey give me joy, but e don reduce my urge for sex," Aishatou tok.

"I don dey addicted to am and dey use am three to four times per day."

"I stop to dey use taba afta I lose my baby, I no know say I don get cervical cancer," she explain, as she later find out say she get cancer two years ago.

We also meet Rashida (no be her real name) - she dey sit down under mango tree. Rashida wey be anoda taba user tell di BBC say she don dey use am for seven years, and her husband no know about am. She dey hold back tears, as she explain how her addiction don take ova her life.

Remembering her late sister-in-law wey die for hospital, she say, "I gatz stay wit her for three days, but I forget to take my taba. I dey crave am so much sotey I no fit concentrate."

As she dey waka go her supplier house to restock, she explain how taba don become her daily need.

Di women wey BBC follow tok tell us say intravaginal use of taba na terrible experience for first-time users.

"Di first time wey I apply am, I faint for ova one hour and vow say I no go use am again. Di second time I use am, I vomit a lot. Di pesin wey introduce am to me tell me make I continue, say e dey clear my system," Aishatou tok.

Rashida agree. "I dey feel dizzy and start to dey tremble. E be like say I get malaria. I later faint ." She tok say na di same experience for di second day, "but by di third day, e don feel normal".

Taba sellers dey hide dia product by showing oda tins wey dem dey sell while dem dey hide di powder. Dem go only sell to customers wey sabi certain code words. You fit also source for am from di circle of older women for rural communities.

Ramat na 56 years old and she tell us say she don dey sell taba secretly for di past two years for one small town for di North Bank region.

She tok say dem dey wrap di mixture for nylon, sometimes dem even dey add paper wrap becos e get strong smell. One pack dey sell for about 15 Dalasi (20 cents).

Ramat no sabi wetin her suppliers dey use make di mix - she tok say her business dey boom. She dey make 200% profit on evri five-litre bucket of taba powder wey she dey sell.

Wen she first start to sell, she tok say she no sabi how e dey addictive. "If I fit find anoda business wey go bring profit, I go stop to sell am becos I no wan harm my fellow women anymore." "I don use taba once to cure infection, but I almost die. Since dat day, I neva use am again. Some of my customers tell me say dem experience di same tin," she tok.

International supply network

Authorities believe say supply chain extend far beyond di kontri, wit sellers sourcing di product from as far as Guinea-Bissau; Sierra Leone and Casamance for Senegal.

Di Gambia govment don tok say taba na harmful substance for women and girls since 2020. But dis no mean much for ground as actions neva show - dem neva take any legal action to stop sellers and users.

Even though to use taba no dey illegal, 18 years na di legal age for tobacco, and some groups like Mothers' Health Foundation and di Gender Ministry dey worry say children dey use am too.

"Di govment don sabi say taba dey harm di well-being of Gambian women, and we dey committed to legislating measures, policies and programs wey go fit tackle am," Kajali Sonko, di Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, tok.

Doctor Bai Cham, na epidemiologist for di Medical Research Council unit for di Gambia, e publish one paper on di effect of taba on di bodi for 2023. Im team find out say taba fit get "negative health effects" based on wetin dem don sabi about di impact of oda smokeless tobacco.

Dr Cham dey also do chemical analysis on samples of taba mixtures as part of further research.

E don interview 42 women and 15 men wey be partners of current taba users or ex-users. E tok say more dan 90% of di women wey im follow tok get symptoms of nicotine poisoning - including vomiting, diarrhoea, uncontrolled urination, burning sensation, and irritation.

Some of di women wey im interview dey mix dia tobacco powder wit caustic soda.

Im team also find high levels of nicotine and carcinogenic tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs) inside di samples wey dem test.

Di BBC take some more samples of taba - wey dem gada for Essau and Banjul - to one lab for University of Lagos make dem test am.

Result show say e get pyridine derivatives (wey get nicotine-related compounds) plus levels of lead wey pass World Health Organisation safety limits.

Di Gambian govment don dey use health professionals and activists to dey fight against taba for communities and public health centres for di kontri.

Mr Sonko from di Gender Ministry tell BBC say dem don create information and advocacy programme.

Di kontri don start to dey build di first eva drug rehabilitation and treatment centre since March but e neva clear weda dem go take taba-users.

As authorities dey plan di next steps to take, former users like Aishatou dey campaign against taba for grassroots level for dia communities."I no want make women go through wetin I don go through."

Rashida also get regrets and she hope say one day she go stop. "If I fit get help, I go surely stop to dey use am. I no go advise anybodi make dem use taba so dem no go turn addict like me.

Additional reporting by Yusuf Akinpelu