Nigeria: Tobacco industry criticized for failing to comply with health warning laws

The Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has expressed concern over the failure of tobacco manufacturers to renew graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging, recalling that tobacco is a major public health problem in Nigeria, especially among the youth.[1].

Studies show that graphic health warnings are more effective than text warnings in communicating the risks of smoking. Article 11 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) states: Cigarette and other tobacco product packets should systematically carry text health warnings, combined with photos or illustrations; they should also occupy at least 50% of the main surfaces of the packets and be regularly renewed. Section 20 of Nigeria's National Tobacco Control Act, 2015 (NTC Act) also requires manufacturers, importers and distributors of tobacco products to ensure that their products carry colour graphic health warnings, covering 50 % of the principal display surface, and that the approved photograph clearly shows the health consequences of tobacco use and exposure.

A significant delay in implementation

Adopted in 2019 and instituted only two years later due to a deadline granted to tobacco manufacturers[2], graphic health warnings must be present on all tobacco products in Nigeria and are due to be renewed from June 2023. The first set of warnings, a contrasting image of healthy and diseased lungs of a smoker, was affixed from June 23, 2021 for a period of two years. In other words, from June 23, 2023, a new set of graphic warnings were to be affixed on tobacco product packages, with the renewal of the health warnings being very important to maintain the effectiveness of the measure. However, according to the findings of the Nigerian alliance, these new warnings are not effective in several provinces of the country.

Oluwafemi, NTCA chairman, described the situation as unacceptable and warned tobacco companies of their obligations and the impossibility of deviating from the law. The warnings currently approved by the Federal Ministry of Health show a picture of a tobacco user with mouth cancer, with the accompanying text: “smoking causes mouth cancer”. The health associations had already warned several months ago of the possibility of non-compliance by tobacco companies with the existing legislation.

The alliance called on the Federal Ministry of Health and all relevant agencies to ensure the rapid implementation of these graphic health warnings on all tobacco products.

Heavy interference by the tobacco industry in politics in Nigeria

Nearly 70% of the country's 200 million people are under the age of 24, making Nigeria a highly profitable market in sub-Saharan Africa for the tobacco industry. In a recent letter[3], the organization Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has also urged the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo Olu, to end the partnership between different state ministries and British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN). CAPPA denounces the marketing strategies deployed by tobacco manufacturers towards this young population to develop its tobacco and nicotine products. A report in 2022[4] had already denounced certain CSR activities of the tobacco industry, including British American Tobacco Nigeria, promoted on social networks in certain states of Nigeria, particularly those of Lagos and Oyo.

Lagos is among the cities most targeted by the tobacco industry in the report “Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets”. BATN regularly organizes musical evenings and cultural events in the Nigerian capital directly targeting young people with free distribution of tobacco products.

CAPPA points out that the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which Nigeria has signed and ratified, urges Parties to prohibit or restrict all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This violation of the provisions of the WHO treaty is all the more serious in the eyes of civil society actors because public officials are directly involved in these operations. They recall one of the general obligations of the treaty, Article 5.3, which requires Nigeria, which has ratified this text, to protect its public health policies from the commercial and other interests of the tobacco industry.

Keywords: Nigeria, Africa, health warnings, interference, lobbying.

©Tobacco Free Generation

AE

[1] Patience Ivie Ihejirika, Tobacco Products: NTCA Calls For Implementation Of Graphic Warnings, Leadership, published July 25, 2023, accessed July 26, 2023

[2] Generation without tobacco, Health warnings: Nigeria renews its messages and adopts illustrations, published on April 8, 2023, consulted on July 26, 2023

[3] Terminate Lagos Government Partnerships with Tobacco Industry, CAPPA cautions Sanwolu, The Sun, published July 24, 2023, accessed July 26, 2023

[4] Generation without tobacco, Nigeria: Tobacco Industry Uses Social Media to Promote Its Products, published June 27, 2022, accessed July 26, 2023