Time to nail breast cancer

By Olukorede Yishau

Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu woke up one day and had no cause to feel anything was wrong with her. She felt great and naturally had no reason to believe anything was amiss with her health. Then, she decided to have her bath. And her world came crashing like a ceiling that caved into a severe storm. It was in 1997. As she was having her bath, her fingers touched something on her. A lump? She told herself it could not be. It was a denial she did not even believe herself. Her emotions ran riot and fear took over her entire being.
For one week, she kept it to herself. She could not share the fear that she had breast cancer with anyone. Not even her husband or family doctor. She was under terrific emotional trauma. Not even her husband’s belief that she was withdrawn could draw her out.
But an angel soon came. The angel came via the a cable show. According to her, "I tuned to cable TV and chose UK living and there was Rolanda’s show tilted "this programme can save your life." It surely did, for it was about breast cancer survivors. That programme gave me what I needed most at that point in time hope that I could be a survivor too. It was the greatest spiritual upliftment I have ever had in my entire life."
She said: "By the following week, I summoned courage and went to an Alumna (University of Nigeria), Dr. Ubah at University College Hospital, Ibadan for palpation. She at last confirmed the presence of a lump. Cold reality. Numb shock. What kind of lump? Benign or malignant? It was rather too early to conclude as biopsy was yet to be carried out. However, it is pertinent to mention that by the time of confirmation of the malignancy, I had gathered myself, shut out emotions and was ready for whatever it would take to make me free of the affliction. My emotional preparedness, I want to believe, helped a lot in dealing with the problem. Without delay, on April 29, 1997, I had surgery at the University College Hospital, Ibadan successfully performed by a most caring team of doctors led by Dr. O.O. Akute (FRCS- Fellow Royal College of Surgeons). The best part of the good news was that my cancer was at stage 1 with the axillary nodes free of cancer cells."
Thanks to Rolanda’s Show, Anyanwu-Akeredolu came out of her quietude. But there are thousands of women and men currently groaning in silence over breast cancer and other forms of cancer in different parts of Nigeria.
Many are confused and find themselves pacing up and down, with beads of perspiration forming beneath their collars. Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who after surviving her ordeal founded Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), said it is not unusual for people to groan in silence.
"While in the hospital, I noted the generally high level of fear, apprehension and secrecy among breast cancer patients. Nobody wanted to talk about it. Majority of the patients, due to ignorance and poverty were at the late stages of the disease when little help could be given. The lucky ones who had successful treatment shied away from discussing their experience. They simply got treated and walked away with sealed lips. Some that I managed to engage in discussions disclosed that their husbands would never let them go public about their experience with breast cancer, apparently fearing stigmatisation," she said.
It is in order to stop the silence associated with breast cancer that the month of October has been set aside worldwide to create awareness about the disease. In Nigeria, where the pandemic is on the increase, non-governmental organisations working in the area of cancer have used the month to hold events aimed at improving the awareness about breast cancer, the need for government to provide test centers and treatment facilities. Some have also used it to promote the need for legislations, which promote healthy living.
Interestingly, the need to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill, which is before the Senate has also found a space this month. The Senate Committee on Health led by Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello has held a public hearing on it, after it passed the second reading. The passage of this bill automatically means a domestication of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), a global treaty which Nigeria has ratified and is obligated to domesticate. The FCTC prescribes measures that discourage smoking and promote healthy living.
Though the causes of breast cancer have not been conclusively found, tobacco use is associated with many forms of cancer and causes 90 percent of lung cancer. Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Tobacco is responsible for about one in three of all cancer deaths in the developed world, and about one in five worldwide.
This is why the Programme Manager of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, said it was time the Senate passed the National Tobacco Control Bill.
Akinbode told a press conference that "nobody at the public hearing, including tobacco industry lobbyists contended the lethal consequences of smoking."
He said: "Tobacco currently kills over 5.4 million people annually, over 70 per cent of those deaths occur in developing countries. Also, nobody at the public hearing (again including the tobacco companies) objected to the passage of the bill. The tobacco companies only raised a few inconsequential and unsubstantiated objections to a few provisions. Those objections were roundly defended through our presentations.
"In addition, the Public Hearing was the biggest opportunity to unpack some of the lies being peddled in the media about possible negative consequences of the bill. The bill as appropriately titled is to control tobacco consumption so as to reduce the deaths, ill-health, social, economic and environmental costs associated with tobacco use. The bill has no provision about outlawing or forcefully closing down tobacco factories as being circulated in a section of the media. At the public hearing, the tobacco industry and their agents finally put paid to their widely peddled fairy tale of massive job losses if the nation implement effectives tobacco control laws."
He further explained that "In fact, the British American Tobacco Company Nigeria, the company which controls over 82 per cent of the Nigerian cigarette market, in its presentation at the public hearing, allayed all fears of massive job losses when it disclosed in the presence of distinguished Senators that it has 850 staff. To further debunk the massive job loss propaganda, the Association of Tobacco Wholesalers and Association of Tobacco Retailers put their combined staff strength at about 4,000. Thanks to the public hearing and the Senate Committee on Health, Nigerians now know for a fact that the 300,000 or 500,000 job propaganda is huge lie."
He said the only way forward is that "Senator Obasanjo-Bello and members of the committee should fire at full speed to present the Bill before the Senate plenary. We urge the Senate to complement the success recorded by the Health Committee and the example shown by the Osun State House of Assembly by fast tracking the National Tobacco Control Bill. Nigerians are dying by the seconds due to tobacco addiction while tobacco manufacturers smile to the banks. Every delay is more deaths, more ill-health. Nigerians and indeed the entire world are watching. We are waiting."
While the waiting game continues, experts have pointed out that though women may be more affected, but breast cancer is not exclusive to women. In fact, experts say it kills men faster because they are flat-chested. Statistics from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) shows that men account for 20 percent of cancer cases in the country. This means one in every hundred men, as against two in every hundred women, are affected by breast cancer.
The statistics are generally glooming. Of all cancer cases that have been recorded in Nigeria, breast cancer is the leading killer, with over 30,000 cases recorded annually. Globally, not less than 400,000 women are lost to breast cancer annually.
No wonder the Executive Director of International Union Against Cancer, Isabel Mortara, said "each year, the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer and dying from it rises and the gap in survival rates between developed and developing countries widens."
It is for this reason that Anyanwu-Akeredolu said: "Cancer in general is a word that strikes fear into the heart of everyone. It is a sure killer if allowed to take control."
Another breast cancer survivor and promoter of Bloom Cancer Care and Support Centre, Dr. Kofoworola Orija, said "our personal experience of breast cancer is indeed a social issue. Every woman battles through her disease so as to bounce back in life striving to be part once more of an inclusive society."
For breast cancer patient, there are stages of cancer, which basically indicate how far cancer cells have spread within the breast to nearby tissue and other organs. Carcinoma in situ refers to the condition when cancer is static in the ducts and has not spread to other organs of the body. It has two types known as Lobular Carcinoma in Situ and Ductal Carcinoma.
Stage 0 is that stage when the cancer cells are still within the duct. By the time it gets to stages 1 and 2, the cancer has invaded nearby tissue. At stage one, the cancer is two centimetres and once it has gone beyond two centimetres, it has entered the second stage and might have spread to the lymph nodes under the armpit. At these two stages, it is not yet critical.
The critical stages begin from stage three when the cancer has grown beyond five centimetres and have spread to the lymph nodes. It is also possible that it would have spread to the chest wall, inside the chest and the skin.
As for stage four, the cancer has invaded the lungs and the bones, aside spreading to the lymph nodes. Both stages three and four are critical.
As a way of catching the lump early and killing it, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends annual mammogram from age 40. Mammogram is a test carried out to detect lump. ACS also recommended clinical breast examination every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and older. Also, it advises women to know how their breasts normally feel and report any change to healthcare providers. "Women at risk should talk with their doctors regularly about the benefits and limitations of starting mammography earlier, having additional tests or having more frequent exams," the ACS recommends.
It also prescribes breast self-examination (BSE) for women starting from their 20s.
BSE, says Ebunola Anozie, who is the co-ordinator of Care Organisation Public Enlightenment, is the primary weapon through which cancer can be detected early.
What are you waiting for?

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Letting Loose From The Law

By Banji Adisa

THE report was not supposed to amuse anybody, but that is what it instinctively did. Osun lawmakers had just passed a bill prohibiting smoking in public places - to protect non-smokers from the dangers of smoking. In fact the idea is not novel, neither is it exclusive to the state government because a similar legislation is gathering dust in the archives elsewhere. Looking at the workability of the Osun law, however, the story was unambiguous that the effectiveness of the law is in doubt as the government had not established a mechanism to ensure compliance. That is the crux of the matter, as well intentioned as the law may be.

Taking a cue from global experiences, local environmental rights activists have long engaged the tobacco companies operating in the country in a serious battle aimed at the firms' taking responsibility for health hazards they may bring to bear, directly or indirectly, on the citizens. That at least shows the great danger smokers expose themselves to, more importantly the risk passive or non-smokers face in an uncontrolled smoking environment. (Remember the case of the late legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, whose terminal illness was linked to inhaling excessive smoke during his confinement in prison in the heady days of his struggles for justice and social order? He never smoked, but the advocate of the masses had to contend with a fatal lung ailment).

Against this background, the action of the lawmakers was perfectly in order. But who will obey this law, or rather who will enforce it, considering the capacity of the average Nigerian to resist change - someone says it is natural - or to break such laws that seemingly curtail freedom, with impunity. So, who shall we send to bring the intended sanity to our society, not only on smoking but on other equally important social disorders this piece will soon touch.

Nigerians are an enterprising lot, they travel a lot; they can be found in almost every corner of the globe. It is curious that while they disregard such protective laws here, as soon as they step out of the country's shores, they obey without complaints similar legislations in foreign lands.

I recognize that any adult above 18 years is free in most countries to buy and smoke cigarettes, of course with health warnings clearly marked on the packs. There are also designated spots within cities, outside of one's home environment that is, where smokers are allowed to do their thing. That was my experience in Japan last year. The rule is simple: just move into the cubicle out there and satisfy yourself in the midst of fellow smokers). This is sensible enough, I think.

Here, the norm is that every inch of space in a public place is available to puff the choking smoke even if it is discomforting to other people. But because of non-compliance with set rules, the only option open to non-smokers is to walk away with style even though you have every right to be there like your tormentor. A smoker with a poor orientation hardly takes to correction no matter how polite. You would only be lucky if he doesn't pick a quarrel on account of his correction.

Smoking is not the only area an average Nigerian is guilty of anti-social behaviour. There is a ban on the use of siren in the traffic except by ambulances, security patrols in emergencies and certain categories of public officials. That is as far as it goes; nobody listens. Bullion vans, pilot vehicles of 'big men', private individuals and commercial motorcyclists (okada riders) are unrepentant culprits. Surprisingly, road safety escort vehicles are not exempted as witnessed on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway this Monday evening (the mad rush along that axis is always en route the airport to catch a flight). But then which ordinary law enforcement agent will stop the mad fleet of vehicles in the traffic with armed escorts in tow? This society is sick.

There was a sigh of relief the other day the FRSC banned riding on a motorcycle by the driver or the passenger without a safety helmet. Not only that, it became an offence to carry more than one passenger. My people, oh my people! They needed only a few weeks of compliance with the traffic law. Now, it's back to business with two passengers and without the protective helmets, done even with the encouragement or active connivance of passengers themselves. You then begin to wonder whether the people have any sense of value for their own safety.

Of course it is more money for the okada man and the ubiquitous uniformed men in black (did you get my drift) and certain touts from the local councils who present as law enforcement agents? The longer an okada man stays on the roads after the allowed limit of 10 p.m - for security reasons - the more cash for the uniformed men at the toll points. That is another example of a brazen breach of the law. The okada man is ready to take the risk to breach the law to charge a higher fee, assured that workers would always be stranded for lack of functional transport system. Among other dysfunctions, that is a legacy of men of the past, leaders without vision who cared less about the people they govern. Who shall we send then to effect the change we don't believe in?

It is easier for residents of a city to dump refuse right under a signpost indicating 'don't dump refuse here' and even attack sanitation officials in spite of possible sanctions. Vehicles can be parked illegally against designated points. In Abuja, the Directorate of Road Traffic services arrests an average of 140 vehicles weekly for illegal parking, in spite of road signs indicating otherwise.

For as long as anybody could remember, police Inspectors-General have been mouthing 'no more checkpoints' seen by the public as toll collection centres by officers and men. The IG emphasises motorized patrols. That is not a law in the real sense but the rule has variously been abused over time. Only a fool would think that senior officers at the desks are unaware of the deployment of their men on any particular day?

Our children are supposed to be protected to a great extent under the Child Rights Abuse laws. But this has been so ineffectual in as many states that have passed them, including at the federal level. Whether it's ignorance by parents or guardians, have the laws stopped an army of children hawking on the streets, being offered for prostitution or being subjected to physical abuse by wicked guardians? Has the abuse stopped marrying out children in some parts of the country through some funny cultures?

Prostitution is supposed to be an outlawed trade among women. Are the makers of our laws immune to patronage of the ladies of the night? The women feel so secure paying dues to some law enforcement agents in return for protection. Some officers might even be patrons of the women of easy virtues. Regrettably, the country's prostrate economy has not made matters any better for women, including female students who have been accused by the professionals of taking a good chunk of their means of livelihood.

In public hospitals in Lagos where the government has done a lot to assist patients believed to be resident tax payers, it is against the law to charge illegal fees. But a friend whose wife was in labour at a General Hospital in Isolo area narrated an ugly experience of having to pay for mundane items like detergents, gloves and what have you to get attention from the medical personnel. What a load of rubbish is this? Well, he had no choice in a matter of life and death, where some people think they hold the ace.

A lecturer in the university who charges illegally for handouts or forces students to pay for a book he managed to piece together as a survival instinct is not doing the society and the struggling parents (or students) any good. So it is for a traffic officer who extorts money from offending commercial drivers to escape the law. The list is endless.

Corruption is the bane of this society. It is hard to divorce the habit of breaking laws from corruptive tendencies of law enforcement agencies. The day that is taken care of, there is a likelihood the society would get better. It would require a lot of re-orientation though, preceded by a reordering of societal values. The awareness has to be there. But who shall we send, as we are all guilty one way or the other as law breakers?

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Tobacco Control: ERA/FOEN laud Osun Govt

Group Calls for Quick Passage of Tobacco Bill

Group urges Senate to expedite action on Tobacco bill

By Ben Ezeamalu

Sequel to the July 20 and 21 senate public hearing on the National Tobacco Control Bill 2009 (NTCB 2009) organised by the Senate Committee on Health, a non-governmental organisation, Environmental Rights Action/Friend of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has urged the National Assembly to fast track the presentation of the bill before the Senate plenary.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, the programme manager of ERA/FoEN, made this call, yesterday, at a press briefing to update the media on the status of the NTCB 2009, in Lagos."The bill has passed the first and second reading, and there was a public hearing in July. Now we are expecting that the Senate Committee on Health will present the 'new bill' with the inputs of the public hearing to the plenary for discussion," said Mr. Oluwafemi.The National Tobacco Control Bill 2009The bill, sponsored by Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, the senator representing Lagos East Constituency, sought to regulate and control the manufacture, sales, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products in the country.

While the bill had no provision for forcefully closing down tobacco factories, it attempted to control tobacco consumption so as to reduce the deaths, ill-health, social, economic, and environmental costs associated with tobacco use.It also sought to domesticate the World Health Organisation - initiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which has already been ratified by 167 countries.

The FCTC is an internationally co-ordinated response to combat the tobacco epidemic. It tackles tobacco industry marketing campaigns executed in different countries and cigarette smuggling, often co-ordinated in many countries by the tobacco industries.Mr. Oluwafemi said tobacco companies and their agents finally debunked their initial tales of massive job losses, up to 500, 000, if the country implements effective tobacco control laws during the public hearing.

"In fact, the British American Tobacco Company of Nigeria, which controls over 82 percent of the Nigerian cigarette market, disclosed that it has only 850 staff. The Association of Tobacco Wholesalers and Association of Tobacco Retailers put their combined strength at about 4, 000," Mr. Oluwafemi said.Great expectationsAccording to Mr. Oluwafemi, the NTCB 2009 will not suffer implementation problems that previous public health bills have suffered."We'd learnt our lessons from those bills that there were no clear provisions about who is going to enforce what? And in cases where they overlap, who does what?

When you look at this bill clearly, it has everything well defined," he said.On October 20, the Osun State House of Assembly passed the Osun State Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Bill, 2009, making her the first and only state to pass the bill yet.Mr. Oluwafemi said though Osun State had made more progress than the national bill, the enthusiasm shown during the public hearing by members of the public and the parliamentarians would enhance the speedy passage of the bill."We don't have any doubt that the people in the senate, from their submissions during the preliminary and second hearing of this bill, will give Nigerians a strong public health bill," the environmentalist said.

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African Lawyers Meet in Nairobi to Build Alliance for Tobacco Control Legislations

Today, a Legal Workshop for Tobacco Control Lawyers in Africa opens in Nairobi, Kenya with over 50 lawyers from over 32 countries present. The workshop, which is jointly organized by the International Legal Consortium at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) and the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) is providing the platform for discussing common concerns and issues related to tobacco control in Africa, sharing information on effective tobacco control legislation in Africa and shaping the goals, objectives and activities of the Lawyers network.

Deliberations at the meeting will be around the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is the first global public health treaty negotiated under the auspecies of the World Health Organization for the regulation of tobacco product manufacturing, sales and promotion. The FCTC currently has 167 countries of which Africa has 40, who are parties and are obliged to fulfill the provisions of the convention.

Providing a comprehensive overview of tobacco control legislation and the FCTC, Patricia Lambert a South African, who works with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in Washington, DC noted that “Africans played a major role in the negotiations for the FCTC. It is an African document. Now is the time to translate the powerful words of the FCTC into concrete actions in every African country” “

African lawyers must be prepared for litigation with full consciousness that the tobacco companies are not lying-down. There is no need to be afraid as the FCTC has provided the guides for ensuring successful implementation of a smoke-free Africa” says Rachel Kitonyo, Chairperson of the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA).

According to Mr. Adeola Akinremi, FCA Africa Coordinator, “This workshop is coming at the very right time for Africa bringing together lawyers at this critical time that many countries on the continent are reviewing their tobacco control legislation”

According to the WHO, “African countries are experiencing the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use amongst developing countries. In the African region tobacco consumption is increasing by 4.3 percent per year.” This development is driven in part by the tobacco industry, which increasingly targets the developing world as barriers rise and smoking rates fall in more “mature” markets around the world.

Globally, tobacco use causes one in ten deaths among adults worldwide – more than five million people a year. Unless urgent action is taken, tobacco will kill 8 million people a year by 2030, 80 percent of them in developing countries.

Countries represented at the meeting include Mauritius, Nigeria, Zambia, Burkina-faso, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya, Ghana, DR Congo, Gabon, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon and Togo. Others include Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Cote d’ Ivoire, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Benin, The Gambia, United States and Canada.

The Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI) promotes the adoption, implementation and enforcement of effective in-country tobacco control policies, legislation and programmes across the African continent by providing the platform for information sharing, institutional support and capacity building among all tobacco-control stakeholders.

Group urges National Assembly to pass tobacco control bill

By Olukorede Yishau

A non-governmental organisation, Environmental Rights Action (ERA), yesterday urged the National Assembly to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill.The bill, sponsored by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, is before the Senate. Speaking at a news conference in Lagos, ERA's Programme Manager, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: "Smoking kills. Tobacco currently kills over 5.4 million people annually, over 70 per cent of those deaths occur in developing countries."
Akinbode said contrary to the argument of tobacco giants, "the bill as appropriately titled is to control tobacco consumption so as to reduce the deaths, ill-health, social, economic and environmental costs associated with tobacco use. The bill has no provision about outlawing or forcefully closing down tobacco factories."

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Osun bans smoking in public places

Wale Folarin

Henceforth smoking in public places in Osun State has become illegal. The government said yesterday that anybody who smokes in public places throughout the state risks being jailed for three to six months and or a fine of between N10,000 to N250,000.

This move got a legal teeth following the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Bill 2009, passed into law yesterday by the state House of Assembly, which was meant to protect non-smokers from dangers attached to smoking.

According to the bill, there shall be no access to tobacco within 500 metre radius of public places like schools, health centers, sporting areas and any other place described by government for public use.

Addressing the parliament, the Speaker, Adejare Bello, who restated the resolve of the state government to give adequate protection to non-smokers in the state, also said that the bill prohibits smoking in any part of an enclosed or partially enclosed public place or workplace.

He said that the bill also prohibits smoking in court buildings, factories, cinema halls, theatres, video houses, disco halls and any other entertainment facilities at any time during which it is open to the public.

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Osun House bans smoking in public places

OSUN State House of Assembly has passed a bill prohibiting smoking in public places into law.

While passing the bill into law, the Speaker, Honourable Adejare Bello, appealed to the media to assist in promoting healthy living by sensitising the public to the dangers in tobacco smoking.

Honourable Bello said though smoking was a matter of choice, but the government must be able to protect non-smokers from dangers attached to it, hence the need for the enactment of the law.

Entitled Osun State Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Bill, 2009, the bill prohibited smoking in any part of an enclosed or partially enclosed public place or workplace.

According to the letters of the bill, tobacco smoking was prohibited within 500 metres radius of facilities like schools, health centres, sporting areas and any other place prescribed by the government for public use.

Smoking is also to be prohibited in court buildings, factories, cinema halls, theatres, video houses, disco halls and any other entertainment facilities at any time during which it is open to the public.

The state commissioner for environment is empowered to approve any part of the public places as a designated area for the purpose of smoking.

Any person who contravenes the provisions of the bill risks, on conviction, a fine of between N10,000 and N20,000 and or a jail term from three to six months, while a corporate offender shall be liable to a fine of N250,000.

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Nigeria Indeed Ratified the FCTC

Contrary to the views expressed by Eze Eluchie questioning the status of Nigeria in relation to the FCTC, Nigeria surely ratified the FCTC.

From his long submission, it is very clear that he has no idea about what has been going on in the tobacco control circle either in Nigeria or at the international community. Perhaps it would be helpful for Mr Eze to wait to learn from other Lawyers attending the Lawyer's Circle meeting in kenya. I need to note here that everyone is excited about the progress made in Nigeria.

Maybe the first thing to do is to pause and ask this question: of what use is Eze's debate at this point that Nigeria is on the verge of passing a comprehensive – FCTC compliant National Tobacco Control Bill? This question leaves us with a further question of verifying Eze's motive behind this long, unnecessary debate. Are we confronted with a force on the side of the Tobacco Companies with deliberate effort to stall the process of passing the tobacco control bill in Nigeria and subsequently in other African countries? Do we simply believe that Eze is playing to the gallery as the man who knows what others do not know? Or is he seeking cheap recognition? Whichever way it goes, we need to put this to a dead end, now!

First, to his question, Nigeria ratification document was signed by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The document bore Obasanjo’s classical signature. It was not signed by any other official. It was signed in Abuja, Nigeria and not in New York. The United Nations has strict rules about who can sign such documents. He ought to have checked on that. I do not know where Eze got the idea that "tobacco multinationals based in Nigeria would be laughing themselves silly at our folly" I think the real silly thing we can avoid here is to engage in debate that demonstrate shallow understanding of issues.

Secondly, after the FCTC ratification document was signed in Abuja by the President,it was first by fax to the UN office in New York. And because of the pressure from tobacco control advocates and Federal Ministry of Health officials on the government, a senior official of the Foreign Affairs Ministry was sent from Abuja to New York to deliver a hard copy of the document. If truly Mr. Eze conducted any research at all, he should have unravelled all these information. Obviously, I can not continue to believe that Mr Eze is genuinely unaware of all these. If it happens to be true that he has no such information, I am not certain that the Lawyer's meeting in Kenya has much to benefit from such a tobacco control lawyer, who lacks complete knowledge of happenings within his immediate country.

Was there a parliamentary session to debate FCTC ratification? The answer is NO. But there was indeed an executive council meeting in July, 2005 (I wont be able to go into too much details of the meeting in this e-mail) where the decision to ratify the FCTC was taken after consultations with the Principal Officials of the parliament. The decisions taken that day is contained in an official government gazette. Mr Eze was correct that Nigeria wanted to be part of the first 40 but Nigeria missed that target because of the four months delay in sending the document from Abuja to New York. He is also correct that tobacco control advocates were involved. Truly, 150 copies of the FCTC were shipped overnight by night bus to Abuja for the Federal Executive Council meting. Those activists also came on hand when the official government gazette got stocked at the Government Press in Lagos. Mr Eze ought to have questions at home first before going on the net. There is a long list of international treaties ratified by the Nigerian government using same process.

Anybody, that is following tobacco news from Nigeria will know that what Mr. Eze said about the tobacco companies and the Nigerian government is a bundle of lies. The government has a gazetted document placing embargo on further tobacco investments in Nigeria. It stopped Japan Tobacco from establishing an $80 million cigarette plant in Nigeria. At a recent investment meeting in China, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council made this very clear.

Way Forward

Nigeria is currently debating the National Tobacco Control Bill. The Public Hearing was opened by no other person than Senate President, David Mark, who made categorical statements such as “We stand between health and economy. That is the truth of the matter. People who are against it are worried about the impact on the health of Nigerians and people who are for it are saying well, the nation stands to benefit from it. The simple question is: “when do you begin to worry about economy? Is it when you are dead or when you are alive?” This got a huge coverage in the media.

Mr Eze was not at the Public Hearing but he should have read about the progress made on the National tobacco control bill. Apart from the Senate President, several senators have spoken at public fora about their support for the bill. If Mr. Eze has ever been involved in legislative advocacy, he would have realised that to get to public hearing, the Bill has passed two plenary debates and there were none of his federal legislators with “ palpable animosity” to shoot down the bill. Infact lets ask ourselves how many bill get passed first reading and second reading at the Nigerian Senate? Getting the National Tobacco Control Bill up to a successful Public Hearing in a country with huge BAT investment is no mean feat. It should not be trivialised. It cannot be wished away.

It is imperative to state that with the government agencies that were present at the public hearing, which attracted the best Parliamentarians and lawyers you can think of in Nigeria today no one, not even all the tobacco companies present raised any question around Nigeria’s ratification. Infact that was the first issue that was settled before the draft bill went to parliament. Nigeria needs no spoiler now. (The Public hearing had the most respected Professor of law, Yemi Osibajo (SAN), Barrister Uche Onyeaghucha, Prof jubril Aminu, Marian Uwais, a bar leader , Nurudeen Ogbara and some Senators who are also lawyers)

What Nigeria needs now is not ratification campaign but the passage of the Tobacco Control Bill.

The intent and motive of this debate is mischievous, and we should put this debate to death.


--Regards,

Tosin Orogun
Programme Manager

Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI)
Initiative régionale pour la lutte contre le tabac en Afrique (IRCTA)
Iniciativa regional para a luta contra o tabaco em África (IRCTA)



Phone: +234[802] 390 2518, +234[1] 811 1319
Email: Tosin.Orogun@atcri.org
Skype: tosinorogun
Windows Live Messenger: tosin.orogun@atcri.org
Website: http://www.atcri.org/

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Has Nigeria indeed ratified the FCTC?

Dear Colleagues,

Has Nigeria indeed ratified the FCTC?

The title of this seems and is shocking, as it appears to contradict with the reality of the deposition of an ‘Instrument of Ratification’ of the FCTC by a Nigerian government official at the Headquarters of the appropriate place for such depositions on the 20th of October 2005.

Ratification of international treaties and conventions, it must be stressed is a technical requirement. The ‘deposition of an instrument of ratification’ is primarily symbolic and ought to be the culmination of a ratification process.

THE NIGERIAN SITUATION

Nigeria operates a Presidential system of government modeled after the system practiced in the United States of America, with a President heading the Executive arm of government and a bi-cameral legislative structure at the federal level comprised of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Signing of international treaties, conventions and instruments is the prerogative of the Executive arm of government; ratification of such instruments is done by the Legislature.

The FCTC was duly signed by Nigeria – authorization to do so having been made at a duly constituted meeting of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council.

Ratification of international instruments on the other hand is a function of the legislative arm of government. The Executive presents signed international instruments, to the Legislators (in the case of Nigeria, to the Senate and House of Representative) for ratification.

HOW WAS THE RATIFICATION ATTAINED?
Tobacco control activists across Nigeria were engrossed in ensuring that we were not left behind in becoming one of the first 40 countries to ratify the FCTC. Towards ensuring ratification, different activists and advocates were focused on different legislators and other relevant policy makers. As such when the announcement was made of Nigeria having deposited the instrument of ratification, we were all engulfed in the euphoria of the moment and the positive advantages that would accrue to our country (and probably our prestige amongst international colleagues) by virtue of the ratification it obviously skipped our minds to ask two pertinent questions: How and When?

BACKGROUND
We first stumbled across the hint of non-ratification by Nigeria in the course of our RITC sponsored research project on “Empowering Civil Society to become effective advocates for the ratification/accession of the FCTC in the West Africa sub-region”, as some legislators seemed rather ignorant of what they ought to have ‘ratified’.

Following palpable animosity displayed by some federal legislators towards the FCTC in the course of a recent Public Hearing on a draft tobacco control bill, we undertook a more detailed study of the legislative records of proceedings for the period immediately preceding the ‘deposition of the instrument of ratification’ by Nigeria.

We were embarrassed and stunned by our findings - the FCTC (either as an entity, in whole or in part) has never been presented, debated upon or approved by neither the Nigerian Senate nor the House of Representatives acting jointly or severally. Legally and technically speaking Nigeria COULD NOT AND HAS NOT ratified the FCTC. HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?Under the immediate past rulership of General Olusegun Obasanjo,(during which period the FCTC was purportedly ratified), due process and rule of law were distant from the regimes priorities. Countless blunders were made with regards to international legal instruments – one of the most apparent being the ceding away of some parts of Nigeria (Bakassi area) to Cameron by Executive fiat. The current regime of President Yar’Adua had to revert and represent the matter for Legislative approval to correct the anomaly.

In my thinking a ‘zealous’ bureaucrat at the Nigerian mission to the United Nations headquarters must have dipped hands into his drawers, brought out a pre-typed ‘instrument of ratification’ and probably added the name “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” to the instrument, deposited same at the appropriate place for the deposition of ‘instrument of Ratification’ and pronto, Nigeria had ratified. Is this what a Ratification should be like? Definitely No!

IMPLICATION OF NON-RATIFICATION WHILST MASQUERADING AS A STATE PARTY TO THE FCTC.
All international instruments duly ratified by Nigeria (signed by the Executive arm and approved by the Legislative arm of government) automatically become a component part of our domestic legislations. In the case of the FCTC, it would have been possible for an interested party in Nigeria to sue the Government of Nigeria compelling it to show plans or actions towards attaining some of the time-bound specifications contained in the FCTC.

Non-Ratification means that the FCTC is unknown to the Nigerian legal system and cannot found any action in a Nigerian Court.

This situation is unfortunate and I am very sure the tobacco multinationals based in Nigeria would be laughing themselves silly at our folly.

THE WAY FORWARD.

It is a fact that one cannot expect the officials of the United Nations or the World Health Organization to begin to enquire into the format of individual country legal systems to confirm ratification or otherwise. It however behoves on interested parties to communicate the reality in the hope that records could be set right for the overriding benefit of our country.

Nigeria’s status (not ratified) with regards to the FCTC should be properly reflected to serve as an impetus to ensure the Ratification of the FCTC by Nigeria.

WHY NOW?
With Nigeria’s recent election as a non Permanent Member of the Security Council for the next one year, we are provided with a unique opportunity to ask the current regime in Nigeria to live up to Nigeria’s ranking in Africa by Ratifying the FCTC – I will bet you such pressure works like magic where we come from.

Recent fraternization between our Government and tobacco multinationals operating in Nigeria (symbolized by the recent Nigerian business delegation to the Gulf Arab States led by our Vice President, wherein British America Tobacco Plc and two other companies were showcased) highlights the reality that those in government are not unaware of the anomaly of Nigerians listing on the FCTC as a country that has ‘ratified’ the FCTC.

It must be done right for it to be useful and meaningful!Are there any other African countries or other jurisdictions in similar situations? I will like to hear from advocates from such countries and other legal experts on how to overcome this bizarre situation.

I also look forward to discussing the matter at the forthcoming Lawyers Circle workshop on the FCTC scheduled for Nairobi Kenya.

Regards

Eze Eluchie, Esq

Executive Director
People Against Drug Dependence & Ignorance (PADDI Foundation)
1st Bus Stop Road
(Kilometer 4, Owerri – Onitsha Road)
Irete, Owerri
Imo State
Nigeria
Tel: 234-83-303686234-8023237448
http://www.paddi.globalink.org/

SOURCE

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO INTENSIFIES INDIRECT ADVERTISING

By Seun Akioye

Dominant tobacco manufacturing company in Nigeria, the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) has intensified its Corporate Responsibility campaign with the full page advertorial in the Guardian newspaper of October 15th 2009.

The Corporate Responsibility advertisement published by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) featured the various gift presentations to certain section of the tobacco farming community in Nigeria. Such presentations include goats, provision of bore hole and teaching the skills in fish farming.

The advertisement also coincide with an advertorial by the Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) published in the Punch newspaper of the same date asking the Senate to fast track the passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill. The advertorial published under the title ‘Tobacco Facts’ is part of a series of enlightenment campaign lecture by the groups. The publication has dealth with various issues regarding tobacco and health in Nigeria

Meanwhile tobacco control community has reacted swiftly condemning the action and calling the publication of the tobacco company as indirect advertisement. The NTCA in a statement condemned the advertorial calling it propaganda. “There are more pressing social issues in Nigeria that BATN foundation can tackle not the feakle corporate social responsibility of providing goats and garri for farmers. This is indirect advertisement and we condemn it in totality. Let them however spend that money in looking for a solution to the various ailments caused by their products.”

Media officer ERA/FoEN, Philip Jakpor also in a statement described the publication of the CSR efforts as shambles. “ This is another way of advertising. It is designed to boost the ego and promote the products of British American Tobacco and the gesture does not in any way reflect the true belief of the tobacco industry. It has been asked and we ask again ‘ can a company that produces a product that kills its users ever be socially responsible? The first thing to do to be socially responsible is to stop the production of lethal products. Before they do that, we are calling for Corporate Accountability.”

Interestingly, advertising and marketing sponsorship of any tobacco products have been banned in Nigeria since 2004.

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The Journey...

More detail to come...

Text messaging found to help smokers

REUTERS
October 8, 2009 05:01AMT

Text messaging can help smokers quit the habit, according to an international study.

A review of four trials conducted in New Zealand, Britain and Norway, found that programs to help people stop smoking that included text-messaged advice doubled the chances that smokers would be able to kick the habit for up to a year.

The trials, involving 2,600 smokers, used text messages as a way to give smokers daily advice and encouragement and also offered support when quitters needed it the most.

If they found themselves craving nicotine, for example, they could text "crave" to the program and get immediate advice on what to do.

"We know that stopping smoking can be really difficult and most people take several attempts to quit successfully," researcher Robyn Whittaker from the University of Auckland in New Zealand told Reuters Health.

"It is important to be able to offer lots of different options for extra support."
Two of the studies looked at programs that only involved text messages, finding that the service doubled the odds that smokers would quit over six weeks.

The other two studies focused on a program in Norway that used text messages, emails and a dedicated Web site. It found that smokers who used the program were twice as likely to report abstinence for up to one year.

The findings appeared in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the international research organization the Cochrane Collaboration.

However the studies found the majority of smokers taking part in the studies did not succeed in quitting, regardless of whether they had text-message help.

One of the programs in the study, called Txt2Quit, is running in New Zealand, with government funding, and automatically sends users two to three text messages per day shortly before a designated "quit date," and for one month afterwards.

A recent review of people who took part in the program's first year found that one-third did not smoke four weeks after their quit date. That figure dropped to 16 percent after 22 weeks.

Whittaker said it is estimated that only about 5 percent of smokers are able to kick the habit without any help.

But text messages could serve as one more tool in the smoking-cessation arsenal and may be effective for some people because they can get help when cravings strike.

"The frequent messages can also act as a good reminder and motivation to keep going," Whittaker said.

SOURCE