Nigeria's Tobacco Control Law Remains Largely Unenforced

June 19, 2024

Par: National Committee Against Smoking

Dernière mise à jour: June 19, 2024

Temps de lecture: 5 minutes

La loi sur le contrôle du tabac au Nigeria reste majoritairement inappliquée

Nine years after the passage of Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act, enforcement remains largely inadequate due to tobacco industry interference. Smoking persists in public places and the tobacco industry continues to directly target youth, exposing millions of Nigerians to avoidable harm.

The Tobacco Control Act, enacted under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, marks a significant effort by Nigeria to regulate tobacco use and protect public health. Enacted in response to the growing challenges posed by tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke, it aims to restrict smoking in indoor public places such as restaurants, bars, and workplaces. The legislation also prohibits the sale of single cigarettes and kiosks, while promoting educational measures to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco. Despite these efforts, full implementation of the law remains a challenge, with obstacles such as a lack of resources to enforce regulations and interference from the tobacco industry.

Highly normalized tobacco consumption in Nigeria

Over 20 billion cigarettes are smoked annually in Nigeria, with about 5.6 billion adults currently using tobacco products. Socializing venues such as bars and nightclubs expose up to 82 billion of the population to second-hand smoke, while 29.3 billion are affected when visiting restaurants. The blatant disregard for the law is evident not only in the capital, Abuja, but also across all major cities in the country. Cigarettes are sold freely at kiosks and vehicle parks, defying existing regulations.[1] In 2021, Nigerian civil society organizations pointed out the process of “normalization” of tobacco in society and launched the #SmokeFreeNollywood campaign to alert people to the considerable presence of tobacco in films and series.[2] A 2022 report had decried how the tobacco industry has captured the virtual space in Nigeria to aggressively promote both its tobacco products and a smoking culture as well as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Icons of Nigerian music and film are used to promote tobacco products to Nigerian youths. Major manufacturers like British American Tobacco, regularly organize music nights and cultural events in the Nigerian capital directly targeting the youth with free distribution of tobacco products.

Nigeria is a key market for the tobacco industry in Africa due to its large and rapidly growing population (44% of the population is under 15 years old) and its access to other markets in the region.

Tobacco Industry Interference in Tobacco Control

Despite joining the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 20 June 2005, Nigeria faces similar challenges to other countries in fully implementing tobacco control measures. In 2021, two African bodies, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) with the support of the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), released an alarming report on tobacco industry interference in Nigerian public policies.

The report shows that despite clear laws and policies in place, the tobacco industry continues to benefit from significant advantages from the government: participation in the development of health policies, strong communication associated with so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions. The NGOs therefore call on the government to protect public health policies on tobacco control from the commercial and other interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention. They call for these protection measures to be implemented within all government ministries.

WHO call for action to strengthen enforcement of anti-smoking regulations

In the face of this critical situation, WHO is calling on Nigeria and other African countries to strengthen enforcement of tobacco control regulations, including a total ban on public smoking and the use of e-cigarettes, and to guard against interference from tobacco companies. On World No Tobacco Day 2024, Dr Moeti Matshidiso, WHO Regional Director for Africa, stressed the importance of protecting young people from harmful tobacco products and the tobacco industry’s deceptive strategies to attract them.

WHO says it is imperative that African governments implement tax and pricing measures to reduce tobacco consumption, while strengthening health risk communication through clear graphic warnings. These actions are essential to protect public health and prevent the millions of preventable deaths linked to exposure to tobacco smoke each year.

 

©Tobacco Free Generation

D.T.


[1] Patience Ivie Ihejirika, Smoking: Why Implementation Of Tobacco Control Act Is Crucial, Leadership, published June 12, 2024, accessed June 14, 2024

[2] Generation without tobacco, Nigeria: Tobacco Industry Uses Social Media to Promote Its Products, GST, published June 27, 2022, accessed June 14, 2024

National Committee Against Smoking |

 

Ces actualités peuvent aussi vous intéresser