The Federal Government has emphasized that the tobacco sector must be strictly regulated in conformity with national legislation and international best practices.
The PUNCH reported that the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, announced this recently in Lagos during the formal lunch of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s tobacco control advocacy campaign, titled ‘Don’t burn their future’.
Pate was represented at the event by the Chairman of the Tobacco Control Unit, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Malau Toma, who stated that for every dollar a country gains from tobacco, $3 is spent on healthcare costs as a result of its negative impacts.
The Minister praised the FCCPC’s legal action and penalties against British American Tobacco Nigeria for engaging in anti-tobacco control and anti-competition actions.
He explained that tobacco hurts national economies, sustainable development, and the environment, as well as reinforcing, recycling, and perpetuating poverty “through several generations, especially among low-income earners who invest their money to service their tobacco addiction”.
Pate claimed that the tobacco industry used its energy to flood the market with newer products, “while frequently circumventing the law in tobacco advertisement, promotions, celebrity endorsements, corporate social responsibility, and recruitment of new users to replace the old tobacco users who are in transition to premature mortality.”
He stated that the sanction was consistent with Article 19 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which “requires parties to consider legislative action, where necessary, to deal with the tobacco industry’s criminal and civil liability, including compensation as appropriate.”
Pate also indicated that the ministry was pleased that FCCPC had opted to support this lobbying campaign with a portion of the penalty imposed on BATN.
Earlier, the acting Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Adamu Abdullahi, the “tobacco epidemic has emerged as a significant contributor to preventable health issues, affecting both urban and rural communities and the economically productive population.
“This was why the FCCPC launched this campaign to address the various segments of society, such as the primary tobacco smokers, who, despite being aware of the dangers, need support to break free.
“The campaign would also involve retailers, who are the gatekeepers to tobacco availability. The idea was to employ them as change agents while strictly checking the age of people seeking tobacco products,” he explained.
According to Abdullahi, the FCCPC’s strategy goes beyond a simple warning.
He stated that the organization was supporting and partnering with Civil Society Organizations “to provide counselling services and assistance for individuals aiming to quit smoking, as well as toll-free lines as bridges to a smoke-free future and providing supports.”
