A 2006 anti-smoking law that no longer enjoys unanimous support in Niger

Niger is one of the first countries on the African continent to have ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and adopted very comprehensive legislation in 2006. However, it is now clear that the failures to implement this law make it obsolete and ineffective, in the face of the insidious intrusion of tobacco manufacturers.

An anti-tobacco reform, pioneering in Africa, but now obsolete

After signing the FCTC in 2005, Niger adopted an anti-smoking law in 2006, followed by its implementing decree in 2008. This was followed by two decrees, respectively on the ban on the sale of tobacco products near schools, hospitals and workplaces, then on "the regulation, composition, packaging and labeling of tobacco products in Niger with the obligation of graphic health warnings"[1].

However, these various provisions dating back more than fourteen years are finding less and less resonance among the population, both in their content and in their application. The civil society fighting against tobacco proposed an amendment to the said 2006 law to allow the proper application of the progressive provisions. The amendment proposal was postponed indefinitely, clearly demonstrating the consideration that the 2006 anti-smoking law and its application enjoy, in practice.

Tobacco industry interference undermines tobacco control efforts, in violation of FCTC Article 5.3

It is now increasingly documented that tobacco companies use underhanded maneuvers to influence government positions on tobacco and, by extension, the population's consumption. For example, in the 2000s, Philip Morris organized a free concert for 30,000 people in the capital Niamey for the launch of its "Bond Street" brand. In addition, the week before the concert, PMI distributed free cigarettes to young people, directly in schools, as prizes for games.

A few kilometres away, in the village of Hamdallaye, British American Tobacco organised, five days before the examination of the 2006 law by the Nigerien Parliament, an ostentatious ceremony on the occasion of the inauguration of a drinking water supply system. High dignitaries and locals were among the guests - victims of the deception because in reality, the well only functioned for the first four months after this ceremony.

The tobacco industry only deploys public relations operations that exploit and deceive managers and consumers to serve its own interests. The media coverage of such events serves it and paints an image that does not represent it.

©Tobacco Free Generation