By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), has said that the tobacco industry players are in a desperate lobby relevant government agencies
to raise next generation of addicts.
The Chairman of NTCA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stated this at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.
He said information from the grapevine indicated that government agencies directly in charge of enforcement of the laws against tobacco, are under heavy pressure from deep pocket tobacco industry players who are cajoling them to accept what they called novel tobacco products, which the producers are projecting as less harmful.
He cautioned government agencies still holding meetings with tobacco industries on the health challenges it poses on Nigerians particularly the youths .
“Stop Tobacco Industry Interference: Enforce Graphic Health warnings now”.
Olufemi, who was represented by the Programme Manager, Chibuike Nwokorie, called on Standards Organizations of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Police Force, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, and all agencies tasked with enforcement of tobacco control laws to save Nigerians by beginning the enforcement of the graphic health warnings policy without delay on all tobacco products.
He explained that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the economic costs of tobacco-related illnesses amount to billions of dollars.
He said recognizing this, Nigeria ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005, and enacted the National Tobacco Control Act in 2015, signalling its commitment to implementing evidence-based strategies to end tobacco consumption.
He said one of these strategies is the graphic health warnings policy contained in the National Tobacco Control Act of 2015 and the National Tobacco Control Regulations approved in 2019.
“According to a recent study by the Institute of Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy in collaboration with an indigenous research group, the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa; a full implementation of the graphic health warnings policy will end 11,744 deaths caused by tobacco use; prevent 32,608 illnesses attributed to tobacco use and save the country ₦6,745,786 million in healthcare costs annually.
“These projections reiterate the fact that graphic health warnings on tobacco packs are effective in reducing tobacco use and uptake, and that they indeed save lives.
Recall that on July 24th, 2023, we gathered in this room to intimate you on the status of implementation of the graphic health warnings policy.
“The first set of the two-year rotational warnings; a photo showing the diseased lungs of a smoker, and the healthy lungs of a non-smoker, expired on June 23rd, 2023.
“The current set of graphic health warnings; an image showing mouth cancer caused by tobacco use was approved by the Federal Ministry of Health and came into effect in June 2023.
“Curiously, the National Tobacco Control Act gives a moratorium of 150 days before enforcement, during which tobacco companies are expected to phase out products bearing the outdated warnings.
“That moratorium period ended on the 20th of November 2023, marking the start of enforcement of the new set of warnings.
To monitor compliance with this critical policy, as recently as this week, we activated Alliance members in the Federal Capital Territory, also, in Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Kano, Adamawa, and Oyo States to carry out market surveys to determine the level of compliance within their states.
“The survey results show that while some cigarette packs bear the new sets of warnings, some still carry the outdated pictorial warning, and worse still, a sizeable number of packs bear the very old ‘text-only’ warnings.
“The survey also revealed that compliance on other tobacco products such as shisha, cigars, snuff, and cigarillos is almost nonexistent.
“Another significant obstacle to tobacco control in Nigeria is the tobacco industry’s interference in policy-making processes. The industry employs various tactics, such as lobbying and strategic marketing, to influence decision-makers and dilute the impact of tobacco control measures.
“This interference not only undermines the effectiveness of existing policies but also hampers efforts to introduce more stringent regulations.”