FG to curtail use of tobacco in Nigeria
With the high death rate from the use of tobacco, the Federal Government has decided to reduce the use of tobacco in Nigeria.
Minister for state of health, Osagie Ehanire, made this known while speaking at the eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP8), saying efforts had been made towards the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act of 2015, a national law that domesticates the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Ehanire also noted that the government had begun mass awareness campaigns on the provisions of the 2015 Act, to create the enabling environment for enforcement.
“Government had reviewed the standard for cigarettes to include the complete ban on cigarettes with characterising flavour, including menthol,” Ehanire said, saying, “Government of Nigeria had ratified the protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products. The instrument of accession would be finalised and deposited at the United Nations headquarters.”
According to Ehanire, tobacco farming leads to deforestation and it also increases land and water contamination due to extensive pesticide use, among others.
Nigeria has made progress on tobacco control in recent years. However, people continue to die and become sick needlessly, and the costs to society from tobacco use continue to mount.
Although the economic cost of smoking in Nigeria are not known, the total economic cost of smoking globally amounts to $2 trillion, when adjusted for 2016 purchasing power parity (PPP). This includes direct costs related to healthcare expenditures and indirect costs related to lost productivity due to early mortality and morbidity.
Satisfaction in the face of tobacco widespread protects the tobacco industry in Nigeria and ensures that tobacco’s death toll will grow every year.
“Every year, more than 16,100 of its people (Nigerians) are killed by tobacco-caused disease. Still, more than 25,000 children (10-14 years old) and 3.5 million adults (15+ years old) continue to use tobacco each day,” according to The Tobacco Atlas.
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveal that import of beverage and tobacco increased to N64.9 billion in 2017 from N49.1 billion in 2016. While export of cigarettes containing tobacco was N7.68 billion with about 0.2 percent share of total export in second quarter (Q2) 2018.
By direction of trade, cigarettes containing tobacco had the highest export to Nigeria with a value of N3.2 billion in Q2 2018.