FCTC Anniversary: CAPPA Prompts Govt to strengthen Enforcement of Tobacco Control Laws
Tracy Ohovwore, Benin City
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (WHO FCCTC), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) urged the Nigerian government to strictly enforce the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA), the National Tobacco Control Regulations, as well as the Regulation prohibiting promotion and glamourisation of smoking in the film and music industry.
According to a statement on Wednesday, CAPPA revealed that the FCTC is the first global public health treaty, adopted on 27 February 2005, which regulates tobacco products, including their content, packaging, advertising, marketing, sponsorship, price, taxation, and illicit trade, to protect future generations from the health, social, environmental, and economic consequences of tobacco use.
It was also discovered that many countries had become parties to the treaty, including 183 countries representing 90 per cent of the world’s population, including Nigeria.
In order to implement the convention, the country enacted the National Tobacco Control Act 2015, and later the National Tobacco Control Regulations in 2019, and, most recently, the Regulation prohibiting the promotion of smoking.
Speaking, the Executive Director at CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi said, “This milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the treaty’s remarkable achievements, renew our commitment to tobacco control, and engender a healthier, tobacco-free future for Nigerians.”
However, he disclosed that despite the enforcement of these laws, the control of Tobacco circulation in Nigeria is low as the industry exploit’s regulatory gaps to target more victims most especially the Younger demographics.
“Annually, more than 8 million people die from diseases caused by smoking and other tobacco use,” Oluwafemi said. “In Nigeria, tobacco-related illnesses kill 26,800 yearly and cause terrifying non-communicable diseases including cancer, heart disease, and chronic respiratory diseases on thousands more, costing billions in healthcare expenses and lost productivity. In addition, tobacco cultivation, manufacturing and use poison our water, soil, beaches and streets with chemicals, toxic waste, cigarette butts, including microplastics, and e-cigarette waste, destroying our environment and further harming human and animal health.”
“Worse yet, the tobacco industry is exploiting our weak legislative and enforcement environment to aggressively lobby governments and the public to embrace newer kinds of harmful tobacco products that it presents as ‘safer’ than traditional tobacco use. Through deceptive marketing on social media and corporate social responsibility (CSR), the industry undermines tobacco control laws and entices more users into tobacco consumption.
“To be clear, these products, including e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), heated tobacco products (HTPs), snus, and oral nicotine pouches, among others, are not safe. Rather they are addictive and contain carcinogenic and other dangerous chemicals that make them an unacceptable, man-made health risk.”
In an attempt to counter the problem, CAPPA canvassed intensified regulatory measures and the full operationalisation of the National Tobacco Control Fund (NTCF), including adequate funding.
“The Federal Government must show that it recognises and understands the alarming danger tobacco consumption poses to public health and the economy, by raising the allocation to the Tobacco Control Fund from the present N10 million to a minimum of N300 million for the effective regulation of tobacco consumption. This will aid the National Tobacco Control Committee (NATOCC) and the Tobacco Control Unit (TCU), domiciled within the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, to carry out their responsibilities.” He noted.
