Environmental activists task Jonathan, lawmakers on anti-tobacco law

ENVIRONMENTAL activists on Tuesday expressed concern over the alleged refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to assent “people friendly” bills into law.
The activists under the aegis of Environmental Rights Action/ Friend of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) observed that only the 2012 budget and Freedom of Information (FoI) bill had so far been assented into law by President Jonathan, out of several that were passed at the end of the sixth Senate.
Most worrisome according to the group is the delay of the National Tobacco Control Bill (NTCB), which is to domesticate the provisions of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and reduce tobacco epidemic in Nigeria.
Director of Corporate Accountability of ERA/FoEN, Akinbode Oluwafemi said at the presentation of a “Shadow report on Nigeria’s implementation of the FCTC Articles 5.3, 6. & 13” that over 25 bills were passed at the twilight of the last Senate.
He said that contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, “President Jonathan has failed in his primary responsibility to assent people-friendly bills into law, without giving reasons for so doing.
“This, therefore, raised questions on the validity of spending billions of naira on the current National Assembly, when the bills of the last assembly will not be signed into law and none of the legislators is asking question,” he said.
Oluwafemi added that the shadow report done in Abuja, Enugu and Lagos has shown that provisions for tobacco control in the public had not been adhered to in several public places.
The goal of the shadow report is to monitor and report on Nigeria’s efforts at implementing the provisions of the FCTC articles 5.3 (industry interference), 6 (price and tax measures to reduce demand for tobacco) and 13 (tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship).
According to him, the report finds that the existing ban on outdoor or billboard advertising has been largely conformed to by the tobacco industry, as there was strict compliance with the regulations on outdoor advertising in the monitored cities.
Meanwhile, the ban on POS advertising has been largely ignored. Most of the stores and supermarkets advertise tobacco products and some even expose cigarette shelves to young people and underage persons.
“During the shadow report, ERA/FoEN was able to establish that Nigeria is still far behind in implementing tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco. Also, the average price of a pack of cigarette in Nigeria today is N300, while the average discounted price stands at N80.
“Nigerian government officials lack the required understanding on the methods used by the tobacco industry to influence government policies and legislations.
“The tobacco industry has leveraged on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to weaken government’s resolve for effective tobacco legislation,” the report reads in part.
Oluwafemi added that it is now evident that a lot depends on the prompt signing into law of the NTCB by the president to make the overall enforcement of the principles of the FCTC possible in Nigeria.
He noted that while states like Osun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were moving ahead with the smoke-free public places ban, the issues of single sticks sale of tobacco, pictorial warning, tobacco industry interference, taxation etc, would have to wait until the national bill is signed.
Head of the anti-tobacco campaign group ERA/FoEN, Seun Akioye, therefore, called on President Jonathan and lawmakers in the country to expedite action on the anti-tobacco bill among others.
“We call on National Assembly members to fish out the bill wherever it is hidden. It is to save lives of Nigerians. This is the only bill that will, for the first time, benefit Nigerians directly, especially health-wise,” Akioye said.


Wole Oyebade

Nigeria: Fast Track the Tobacco Control Bill

DailyTrust: Editorial

Abuja — The Senate's decision to commence public hearing last week on the Nigeria National Tobacco Control (NNTC ) bill, which is aimed at domesticating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ( FCTC ) has once again brought to the fore the debate on the societal cost of tobacco production and consumption in Nigeria. Nigeria ratified the FCTC treaty in 2005, but little is being done to regulate tobacco production and consumption in the country.
Sponsored by Senator Olorunnibe Mamora ( AC, Lagos ), the proposed law which is an upgrade of the existing, but defective Tobacco Control Act of 1990 seeks to control the production, sale and use of tobacco products in the country. The bill would also, among other provisions, seeks to regulate the involvement of tobacco companies in corporate social responsibility ( CSR ), a tool many tobacco firms use as part of the arguments to justify their presence in any community. More interesting is the provision which requires tobacco firms to go beyond the written warnings on cigarette packs, to using picture of people harmed by smoking, and this will occupy at least one- third of the pack to warn consumers. Similarly, if the bill is passed, it will be against the law to sell tobacco products within one kilometre of churches, mosques, schools and hospitals.
Indeed, over the years, attempt by pressure groups to convince governments at all levels to take stringent measures against tobacco production and its consumption fell on deaf ears following spirited fight from tobacco firms and other pro-tobacco lobbyists who argued that such actions would lead to the loss of 500,000 jobs across the country. But as the Senate president, David Mark pointed out at the public hearing, "Although the tobacco industry is economically significant, it is only the living that can enjoy the wealth". It is against this background that we support the proposed bill, more so that it is coming at a time when some state governments have taken the initiative to institute legal actions against tobacco companies whose products are alleged to be causing the deaths of many Nigerians and of luring youths into smoking in order to enhance profits margin. Already, the Federal Government and some states like Oyo, Kano, Osun and Gombe are pursuing anti-tobacco cases both at the state and national assemblies.
Though the nation presently lacks a comprehensive data on the deaths caused by tobacco-related illnesses, a research recently conducted by a non-governmental organisation, the Coalition Against Tobacco (CAT) indicated that 280,000 Nigerians died annually as a result of tobacco-induced sicknesses, warning that the number may double in the near future if not checked. Also, in 2006, a research carried out in Lagos revealed that at least two people die daily from tobacco-related diseases; translating to 60 persons losing their lives monthly. These figures exclude passive smokers (who inhale the smoke of others and end up having heart disease, lung cancer and a host of other illnesses).
It is important to note that tobacco smoking and the industry itself is in retreat in developed economies. In fact, in the last two decades, tobacco firms began to relocate their operations to Africa and other under-developed nations due to the stringent regulations introduced in Europe and North America. This is aimed at curtailing the rise in tobacco- induced illnesses, resulting in a number of deaths, especially among youths who constitutes the productive base of any nation. We therefore need to borrow a leaf from the west and regulate the infiltration of tobacco firms into the country under the guise of industrialisation. Though we know it would be a tough decision for the Senators to choose between the economy and the health implication of tobacco, there is need however for the lawmakers to demonstrate courage and show commitment in this direction.
As the nation awaits the passage of the bill, government at all levels must also intensify public enlightenment campaigns on the health implication of tobacco consumption. We also expect the health ministry to carry out a comprehensive research and analysis on the impact of cigarette smoking in order to produce a data that would serve as a reference point in the future when the need arise. This is imperative because it would be foolhardy for the country to always rely on data produced by foreign organisations for our national development.

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