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Showing posts with label Nigeria National Tobacco Control Bill 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigeria National Tobacco Control Bill 2009. Show all posts

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tobacco smoking: Stop the killer before it stops you

- CHIOMA OBINNA


He was walking and all of a sudden he slumped. Thanks to some kindhearted Nigerians who quickly rushed him to the hospital. Unfortunately, he died on the way to the hospital. Further investigations revealed that the victim who was about  28 years old and just finished his youth service never showed any sign of illness before his death.
It was also gathered that young promising graduate of Business administration  was asthmatic. An autopsy carried out by authorities of the hospital to determine the cause of his death revealed that he died of a heart-related disease following his addiction to tobacco smoking.
The victim is just one of the 5.4 million people killed by tobacco use annually and one in 10 adult deaths worldwide.
Mr. Emmanuel Egwu’s case is different. Emmanuel never smoked all through his 35 years on earth.  He had never for once tried to have a drag of cigarette.  Unfortunately, Emmanuel is down with lung cancer courtesy of the environment where he lives.  Emmanuel lives with his three brothers who smoked at least 20 sticks of cigarettes a day! Little did he know that their smoking habit could cause more harm to him instead of the smokers.
Such people as Emmanuel are called passive smokers or secondhand smokers.  According to medical experts, passive smokers are people living among smokers and they are exposed to smoke concentration in the atmosphere they live in. Studies have found that passive smoking is a cause of heart disease and lung cancer and can initiate or aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.  If proper care is not taken, Emmanuel may be counted among the estimated 46,000  nonsmokers who die  yearly from heart disease and lung cancer.
Before now, smoking was one habit fashionable and acceptable to the people but has been found  after many years of study and linkages with many ailments to be as deadly as the scorpion sting.
According to medical experts, tobacco smoke in any form and at whatever level, precipitates ill-health.   Smoking has been implicated in about 60 disease conditions including  tooth loss, diabetes, impotence, stomach ulcers, ocular histoplasmosis (fungal eye infection), acute necrotising ulcerative gingivitis (gum disease), hearing loss, osteoporosis, duodenal ulcer, reduced sperm count, dysmenorrhoea (painful periods), early menopause, psoriasis, colon polyps, cataracts, asthma, reduced fertility, buerger’s disease, angina optic neuropathy (vision loss), premature wrinkling, crohn’s disease and asthma amongst others. Clinical records have shown that the odds are said to be more than double for those who smoke in excess of more than 20 cigarettes a day.
Statistics from the World Health Organisation,WHO, estimates that about 1.3 billion people in the world are currently smoking and most of them are in developing countries including  Nigeria.
Globally, tobacco causes about 5.4 million deaths yearly compared to three million, two million and one million deaths caused by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria respectively.  By 2020, WHO estimates that global death toll from smoking will hit 10 million.
According to an Independent Tobacco Control Activist, Dr. Olusegun Owotomo, statistics available show that about 93 million sticks of cigarette are produced yearly in Nigeria and every one of those cigarettes is consumed and that between 150,000 and 300,000 children under the age of 18 months get respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis from secondhand smoke. More than 40 per cent of children who visit the emergency room for severe asthma attacks live with smokers.
Despite these dangers, efforts are checking tobacco smoking is still not significant. According to WHO,  the global funding of tobacco control, is below 0 million compared to a billion for AIDS, five billion for tuberculosis and around a billion for malaria. As a result, while there has been a gradual decrease in the incidence of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, tobacco-related deaths have been on a sharp increase.
Smoking is a universal problem, which though may have peculiar geographical approaches in terms of solutions, yet remains one with universal determination in tackling.
Critical health watchers say  the ability of the tobacco industry to stage a come back in the country must be checked.
In a write-up, Dr. Olusegun Fakoya, anticipated a huge epidemic of tobacco-related diseases regretting that the resultant strain on public healthcare would be enormous as the majority of these smokers are poor people who have no means to access treatment themselves. Olusegun said with the  pathetic state of the country’s healthcare system, the impending chaos is best imagined.
A big thanks to the recent passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill by the National Assembly. He said the Bill when signed by the President will be one of the ways of forestalling the inevitable doom associated with the current kid-glove approach to the unimaginable disaster associated with smoking.
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Bill is a comprehensive law to regulate the manufacturing, advertising, distribution and consumption of tobacco products. It is a bill aimed at domesticating WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,FCTC.
WHO FCTC  is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. It represents a paradigm shift in developing a regulatory strategy to address addictive substances; in contrast to previous drug control treaties, and asserts the importance of demand reduction strategies as well as supply issues.
The  Bill is a comprehensive law providing for regulations of supply and demand measures relating to tobacco products. However, the recent prohibition of smoking in public places in the Bill would at least save non-smokers from dying of tobacco-related diseases.
A study on “The use of tobacco products among Nigerian adults: A general population survey” by Isidore S. Obot, Department of General and Applied Psychology, University of Jos, showed that Nigerian men smokes more than females, adding that the poor, uneducated smoke more than the relatively rich and educated.
According to the study,  “Smokers had a higher incidence of health problems and both nonsmokers and heavy smokers were less aware of the risk of smoking than light smokers.” The study suggested that  health education should be a major component of tobacco and health policy in Nigeria.
“Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and lower respiratory tract illness in children, and it also increases the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms. There is evidence that parental smoking causes acute and chronic middle ear disease.”
Analysis of chemicals in the urine of women who live with smokers demonstrates that tobacco smoke carcinogen, are absorbed by nonsmokers from second-hand smoke. Women who live with smokers absorb five to six times more chemicals linked to lung cancer than do women who live with nonsmokers.
It has also been discovered that the risk of wives developing lung cancer doubled when the husbands smoked over 20  cigarettes a day. There was also an increased incidence of emphysema and asthma, although to a lesser degree.
Many studies have also shown that when parents smoke, their children cough. Babies are most at risk, with the highest percentages for bronchitis and lung ailments in infants under a year old.
Although, cigarette packets carry warnings approved by health authorities, none lists the diseases caused by smoking. The introduction of photo warnings was a desperate action by concerned governments over a habit that refused to abate despite numerous interventions.
Warnings on packs
Critical observers are calling for the inclusion of  large, graphic warnings, which is proven to motivate people to stop using tobacco and reduce the appeal for people not yet addicted to it.
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Femi Olugbile, said the effective enforcement of the bill when passed into law is also imperative. “Introduction of bold warnings that would  take no less than 30 per cent of the space on cigarette wrappings.
In particular, the introduction of photographic warnings showing cancerous growths caused by cigarettes as obtained in countries like Thailand, Brazil, Canada and Britain, will go a long way in making an informed decision on the part of (potential) smokers to tobacco smoke, death tolls and crippling heart attacks, strokes, cancers and respiratory diseases that are becoming prevalent will be reduced.”
However, Akinbode Oluwafemi, Programme Manager, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria,ERA/FoEN, sees the passage of the Tobacco control Bill as not an attack on smoker.
Youth markets
Another aspect of tobacco activities is the issue of  youth markets.  Today, Nigeria has become one of the largest markets in Africa. Statistics show that youths form over 40 percent of the Nigerian population and 18 per cent of the youths smoke. Unless drastic steps are taken, many youths may become addicted.  A situation experts say  signifies social concern and also portends dire economic consequences.
Measures for Tobacco ControlComplete ban of advertisement, including points of sale.High taxes on cigarettes to discourage more people going into the venture.Protection of non-smokers from the often underestimated harmful effects of second-hand smoking.Expansion of smoke-free public places.Assistance to tobacco farmers to discourage the planting of tobacco.Assistance to pro-tobacco victims to ameliorate the resultant harmful effects of smoking.
Provision of adequate support to states instituting litigations for damages.
20 tips on how to stop smokingBelieve in yourself. Believe that you can quit.Sit down and write your own list, customised to your personality and way of doing things. Create your own plan for quitting.Write down why you want to quit (the benefits of quitting):Ask your family and friends to support your decision to quit.Set a quit date. Decide what day you will extinguish your cigarettes forever.Talk with your doctor about quitting. Support and guidance from a physician is a proven way to better your chances to quit.Begin an exercise programme. Exercise is simply incompatible with smoking. Exercise relieves stress and helps your body recover from years of damage from cigarettes.Do some deep breathing each day for  three  to five  minutes. Breathe in through your nose very slowly, hold the breath for a few seconds, and exhale very slowly through your mouth.Visualise your way to becoming a non-smoker.Develop your own creative visualizations.Cut back on cigarettes gradually (if you cut back gradually, be sure to set a quit date on which you WILL quit).
Quit smoking “cold turkey”.
Many smokers find that the only way they can truly quit once and for all is to just quit abruptly without trying to slowly taper off. Find the method that works best for you: gradually quitting or cold turkey. If one way doesn’t work do the other.
Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other with positive words and by lending an ear when quitting becomes difficult.
Have your teeth cleaned.
After you quit, plan to celebrate the milestones in your journey to becoming a non-smoker.
Drink lots of water.
Learn what triggers your desire for a cigarette, such as stress, the end of a meal, arrival at work, entering a bar, etc. Avoid these triggers or if that’s impossible, plan alternative ways to deal with the triggers.
Find something to hold in your hand and mouth, to replace cigarettes. Consider drinking straws.
Write yourself an inspirational song or poem about quitting, cigarettes, and what it means to you to quit. Read it daily.
Keep a picture of your family or someone very important to you with you at all times.
Whenever you have a craving for a cigarette, instead of lighting up, write down your feelings or whatever is on your mind.

 SOURCE

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Smoke-free public places: Taking a cue from Spain

SIR: A New Year ushers in good tidings and new beginnings. For Spaniards, it was the beginning of a new era, as their government was ready to start the year on a “clean bill of health” and taking their health as top priority. On January 2, 2011, the Spanish government placed a complete ban on smoking in public places. These include bars, restaurants, casinos, workplaces, other enclosed public places and even outdoor areas such as playgrounds, hospital yards etc. Non-compliance with this ban attracts a fine of $40 and as high as $100,000 if caught three times.

Spain is not the first country to take the initiative of enacting a smoking ban to protect her citizens from the harmful effect of tobacco. Several other countries have done the same in the past, these include the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, France, Italy,  Australia, Finland, New Zealand, most states of the USA, Egypt, Uganda, to mention a few.

Safeguarding the health of the citizens is the responsibility of any people-oriented government. The ban of smoking in public places is one of the proven ways of controlling tobacco consumption and reducing tobacco-related diseases and deaths.

Over 167 countries are signatories to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which is a treaty with several articles aimed at achieving global tobacco control. Nigeria who ratified the FCTC guidelines in 2004 is presently yet to pass the tobacco control bill and also lacks a comprehensive tobacco control structure.

Smoke-free environment helps to de-normalise tobacco smoking, protects non-smokers from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke and helps current smokers to consider quitting. Consequently, individuals, government and insurance companies would spend less income treating tobacco-related diseases. The products of the tobacco industry are generally known and even self-acclaimed to be addictive and injurious to one’s health, causing several health conditions. In simple terms, the tobacco industry is a threat to the health sector of any country. Therefore, a comprehensive tobacco control structure should be put in place to control tobacco consumption in Nigeria.

Arguments such as unemployment that could result from the enactment of smoke-free public places legislation are largely baseless. This is because it’s been widely reported that enforcement of this ban in other countries has shown no negative economic impact and in fact, some economic gains were noted in the long term. Conversely, such countries have experienced a significant drop in the smoking population and an evidence-based improvement in the health of the citizens.

As a nation, our true asset is our health and this should be guarded jealously. Let’s prevail on the National Assembly to pass the Nigeria National Tobacco Control Bill before the expiration of this current dispensation.  It’s a new year and we could take a cue from Spain!
 

Friday, August 13, 2010

Cigarette smoking tanker drivers to pay N.1m fine

- Bolaji Ogundele,

Tanker drivers have been warned to desist from unethical behaviour, as those who engage in smoking while driving will pay a fine of N100,000.
This warning was handed down by the national chairman of Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD), Apostle Timothy Ogbu, during an interactive session with members in Port Harcourt.
Ogbu said drink driving was not only an offence against the state, but also the union, adding that such attitude could tarnish the image of their profession.
The chairman cautioned members to obey road ethics and codes and ensure that their vehicle particulars are updated with their original driver’s licence in place.
The PTD boss said the executive members of the union was concerned over the recklessness of some tanker drivers, saying that was why he was on official visit to all depots to sensitise members of the need for attitudinal change.
Ogbu also alerted them to the danger in answering or making phone calls while driving and warned that any member caught in the act would be fined accordingly.


SOURCE

Sunday, June 6, 2010

NASS, pass the Tobacco Control Bill

I write, to call on the Senate Committee on health. led by Senator Iyabo Obasanjo Bello, and the leadership of the National Assembly, to move immediately to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill 2009, sponsored by Senator Olorunnibe Mamoora. The bill, which enjoyed the support of many senators is yet to be returned to the Senate Plenary after a public hearing was conducted in July 2009.

It is a fact that dangers are associated with smoking. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 5.4 million people die every year due to a tobacco-related diseases, with majority of these deaths happening in developing countries. Tobacco is the only consumer product that is guaranteed to kill half its consumers if used according to manufacturers intention. It contains more than 4,000 dangerous chemicals harmful to the body.

It is also a fact that stringent measures aimed at reducing smoking in Europe and America have driven the tobacco industry to developing countries like Nigeria, where the industry continues to flout regulations, marketing to young and impressionable youths, and hooking them on smoking.

Recent surveys suggested that more young people are becoming smokers every day, while a survey conducted in Lagos hospitals reveal that two persons die each day from a tobacco-related disease.

Governments all over the world are putting measures in place to combat the epidemic through enactment of bills, like the one Senator Mamoora is proposing.

It will be to the credit of the National Assembly to expedite action on the bill and pass it before the expiration of this democratic dispensation.

Nigeria played a major part in shaping global health policies, especially in tobacco control. The world is watching and waiting. The National Assembly cannot afford to fail Nigerians.



Seun Akioye,

1, Balogun Street, Off Awolowo way,

Ikeja, Lagos.



Sunday, January 31, 2010

Lung cancer patients who quit smoking live longer

Nigerian Compass


People with early lung cancer who quit smoking could double their chances of surviving, a new study says.
Until now, there has been little proof that quitting smoking after developing lung cancer makes any difference to survival.British researchers analysed previous data from 10 studies examining how long smokers survived after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
People with lung cancer who continued smoking had a 29 per cent to 33 per cent chance of surviving five years.

But those who kicked the habit had a 63 per cent to 70 per cent chance of being alive after five years.

The research was published in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.Lung cancer is the top cancer worldwide and the prognosis is usually poor.

Only about seven per cent of patients make it to five years, though about 20 per cent of patients are diagnosed early enough to be treated.

“The message is you should never give up on giving up (smoking),” said Amanda Parsons, of the United Kingdom Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham, who led the study.

“Even at the stage where you have been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer ... if you give up smoking, your body can still partially recover and your risk is reduced,” she said.

While some doctors recommend lung cancer patients quit smoking, not all do. Some doctors and nurses “think it is inhuman to dwell on the matter — that it adds to feelings of guilt and takes away a lifelong comfort from the dying patient,” wrote Tom Treasure of the University College London and Janet Treasure of King’s College London in an accompanying editorial in the BMJ.

They said patients and their families should now be told about the study results “because the potential benefit is great.”

The research might also provide some clues on how smoking causes cancer. Scientists aren’t sure if tobacco smoke or nicotine affect lung cancer once it has developed, though there is some evidence they may speed up the disease.

Knowing how cigarettes impact cancer could potentially lead to new treatments, Parsons and colleagues wrote.

The study was paid for by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and other governmental bodies.





SOURCE

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Cigarette smoking: Easy path to ill-health, death

EBENEZER EDOHASIM, Features Editor


EVERY one knows that smoking hurts, it causes sickness, disability and death. But the harmful effects of smoking may be worse than you really imagine because smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body. Little wonder Mr. Tunji Buhari of the Environmental Rights Action, (ERA), and Friends of the Earth, lamented that, “Tobacco or cigarette smoking is the only known medication that kills half of its users when used as prescribed by the manufactures. It kills over 10,000 persons per day and 4.5 million people yearly.”

As he further disclosed, “Sadly, 70 per cent of this figure are from developing countries, including our own nation, Nigeria and if this trend continues, this figure is anticipated to rise to 10 million a year by 2030.” The history of tobacco is as old as the world itself because almost all parts of the earth has knowledge of tobacco usage and therefore had smoked one form of cigarette or narcotics even in dark ages.

However, modern attention on the manufacturing of this killer sticks came to light during the slave trade era, when the western world found in Africa, cheap and strong labour which they bought from local greedy African slave merchants, who sold their brethren to the white man, to be used as slaves. These slaves in their millions were wickedly exported to the Americas in special slave ships under very dehumanizing conditions, where most of them worked in tobacco plantations on arrival to the new world, as America was then called, especially in the city of Virginia, United States, to produce raw materials for the production of cigarettes and other dangerous narcotics.
Unfortunately, several years after the abolition of slave trade and slavery, which claimed the lives of many innocent Africans, the tobacco plantations which those slaves nourished for their wicked white masters continued to produce killer narcotics for blacks in developing world as some western nations have banned smoking, having discovered that cigarettes smoking is dangerous to health. In Nigeria, commercial growing of tobacco started in 1934 when British American Tobacco,(BAT), decided to source tobacco leaf locally in preparation for the establishment of a cigarette plant in 1937. BAT has been part owners of the moribund Nigeria Tobacco Company, (NTC).

Tobacco cultivation first started in Ogbomosho, Iseyin and Ago Are, all in the present day Oyo State, before spreading to the northern part of the country. After the collapse of the Nigeria Tobacco Company, there was another spirited attempt by BAT to relaunch cigarette production in Nigeria. Therefore on September 24, 2001 at an event tagged Nigerian Investment Summit held at Park lane Hotel in London, BAT signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government to set up US$150 million ultra modern cigarette manufacturing plant in Ibadan, Oyo State. Since then, BAT and other cigarette plants have been producing cigarettes to millions of Nigerians who savour these deadly sticks on daily basis. It is estimated that 18 billion cigarettes are sold yearly in Nigeria, with one in every five young Nigerian a smoker, while women smokers have raised to10-fold during the 1990s – 2000. In the United States, acknowledged as one of the world’s highest consumer of cigarettes, 400, 000 Americans die every year from smoking and that is 1,200 per day. Also one every five deaths in this God’s own country was the result of smoking.
Despite the fact that cigarettes contains over 4,000 different chemicals that make them deadly, with 60 per cent of these chemical being carcinogens, which means they can cause cancer, people still puff this sticks as if their lives depended on them. Investigation shows that people smoke for different reasons and which some of them are ready to justify, no matter how long you spend to alert them on the inherent dangers associated with cigarettes or narcotics. Generally, people said they smoke to make them look mature, older and respected and this reason was mostly advanced by teenage smokers.

Others smoke to relax their tensed nerves. Still some see it as status conferrer to set them apart or make them higher than their peers, while some claimed they do it to keep their weight down. And for another set, they come from family of smokers and therefore embraced smoking as family business which they must continue. Again, cigarettes makers spend millions of dollars on adverts, making smoking look cool, elegant, and highly successful, as they usually use music, film, television or even sports stars, and very beautiful, sexy and erotic ladies to send their outwardly innocent but inwardly deadly adverts, publicity and promotion campaigns across their target audience all over the world. The dangerous thing about smoking is that once people get hooked, it is very hard to stop and this is called addiction. And addiction on the other hand is caused by the nicotine contained in cigarettes.

According to Dr.Stephen Oladele of Ola Ayoka Memorial Conval (Health) Clinic, Ogudu, Lagos, “Nicotine stimulates the brain, giving it a sense of euphoria. It raises alertness and lifts a person’s mood, but as time goes on, it takes more nicotine to have this effect. When a person is slowing down or trying to quit smoking, nicotine levels in the blood stream drops but withdrawal is never easy.” However, whatever was gained as the result of the decision by a smoker to quit is lost the moment he or she starts smoking again which gets the nicotine level in the blood stream going higher once again, like a diabetic patient who allowed too much carbohydrates into his system, thereby shooting up his or her sugar level.

Dr. Oladele further said that, “Smoking primarily causes cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory ailment, and harms reproduction.” On a broader spectrum, smoking has been linked to cancers of the lungs, mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), esophagus, pancreas, kidney and bladder. Smoking could also lead to cancer of the stomach, cervix and acute myeloid leukemia or cancer of the blood. Smoking it was disclosed causes more cases of lung cancer as smokers are about 20 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non- smokers. Smoking causes 90 per cent of lung cancer deaths in men and 80 per cent in women. Smokers are four times likely to die from coronary heart diseases than non- smokers. It causes atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of your arteries which may lead to strokes. Smokers could suffer from abdominal aortic aneurysms, a dangerous weakening and ballooning of the major arteries near your stomach. If you smoke during childhood and teenage years, it slows your lung growth and causes your lungs to decline at a younger age. Smoking is related to chronic coughing, wheezing and asthma among children, teens and adults. It also causes half of all cases of adult periodontitis, a serious gum infection that can cause pain and tooth loss. Dr Oladele equally stated that, “Smoking seriously harms reproduction as it causes lower fertility in women, induces placenta previa and placenta abruption which are conditions that can make the baby to be born too early and then be sick. The nicotine in cigarettes smoke reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the fetus and could also retard baby’s growth in the womb resulting to low birth weight.”

Further investigation showed that smokers are less healthy than nonsmokers, have increased risk of cataracts, and low sexual drive. They are linked with inability of wounds to heal fast, and respiratory problems, with women smokers’ bones losing density very fast after attaining menopauses. One crazy revelation about smoking is that while smokers risk their lives by inhaling nicotine into their lungs and other vital internal organs, nonsmokers who stay near smokers as they puff their stick are also, unfortunately, at risk of tobacco death. Non smokers who innocently inhale smoke from smokers engage in second-hand smoking equally called environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking, because some quantity of nicotine also enter their system and could damage some organs and cause sickness to unfortunate non smokers. According to WHO report, “It has been confirmed that for every eight smokers who die, one innocent bystander also dies from second-hand smoke and if one is exposed to second-hand smoke for about 120 minutes, then the person must have smoked the equivalent of four sticks of cigarettes.”

Surprisingly, despite these frightening health hazards associated with smoking, people still smoke as if without it they will die the next moment. This writer had interesting interaction with some smokers to find out why in the first place they decided to smoke cigarettes, what they gain from smoking, the health hazards they experienced and when they hope to finally drop this deadly habit. Mr. Oyetunde Olusoji, a young Interior Decorator disclosed that he started smoking cigarette in 1998 due to peer group influence. “Honestly, I still don’t understand why I joined my friends who smoke to do the same. I just wanted to belong to the big boys group and to be seen as one of the movers and shakers of the school environment in which I found myself. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I got hooked into this deadly act and I don’t know how to remove myself from it.” Mr. Olusoji stated that sometimes, certain conditions stimulate the need to smoke. For instance, “If Iam alone and feel bored, I will have the urge to smoke and also whenever I drink beer, only God could stop me from smoking because once Iam taking beer, the next thing that comes to my mind is to smoke and I must satisfy that urge. Interestingly, Mr. Olusoji is aware of the health hazards linked to smoking and even postulated that 60-70 per cent of chest and lung pains come from smoking. However, he argued that since some people developed cancer of the lungs without even touching a stick of cigarette, he no longer bothers himself on the dangers inherent in smoking as long as his urge is satisfied each time the feeling to smoke envelopes him, fully aware that one day, he will die of one illness or the other. As he further disclosed, “One negative effect of smoking on me which I regret so much is the social stigma it hangs on me as some of my girlfriends refused to kiss me because my mouth always smelled of cigarettes. My girlfriends at a stage, individually, asked me to choose between them and cigarette and when I chose my stick over all of them, I knew that my liberation from smoking was still very far. If you smoke, you can hardly get responsible girlfriends because any girl that accepted to befriend you as a smoker if you investigate well, equally has bad habit which when you discover and want to make noise over it, she will blackmail you with your smoking act and you will have no option than to keep tolerating each other’s vices.”

But in a very interesting swift, Mr. Olusoji dramatically decided to quit smoking in 2006 only to resume in2009. According to him, he returned to smoking when he encountered serious challenges which mounted pressure on him, thereby tensing him up. So till today, he is still helplessly addicted to nicotine, hoping that one day God will grant him the grace to quit what he tagged “this destructive habit that robbed me of all my responsible girlfriends, leaving me with the bad ones as I don’t expect any reasonable girl to date a smoker.”

A former chronic smoker, Pastor James Okoro, founder and general overseer of the Word Foundation Assembly, Lagos, who by what he identified as the special grace of God and his will power, discipline and determination quit smoking in 1997, a habit he acquired in 1983 said that, “There is an evil spirit in cigarettes that induces people to smoke. The day that unclean spirit of nicotine addiction left me, I knew that I have been liberated. The very bad aspect of smoking is that every smoker will advance reasons to justify his action. Some light a stick each time they wanted to go the toilet as thy claim it helps them to empty their bowels. To others, it simply gives them joy and any attempt to stop smoking takes the joy in their lives away which is ploy by the devil to get them permanently hooked to smoking. Others will tell you that whenever they drink beer, they must smoke so that the beer will go down their throat very well.”

Pastor Okoro said that smokers should be pitied because quitting cigarette smoking is not an easy task. But he counseled that because of the health hazards linked to smoking which he experienced while he smoked, people should halt smoking without further delay. Those who want to stop must involve God in the process as no smoker can automatically quit smoking with power of the flesh because of cigarette’s addictive nature. Before he stopped smoking, he first bid farewell to alcohol which stimulates him to smoke, cut off from his friends who smoked to avoid any temptation, and fully declared himself a born again Christian before all his friends and neighbours, preaching fiercely against smoking. He said that after few weeks, when the urge came up, he looked for a very secret place to hide and smoke so that people he had already told that he was now born again will not see him smoking. However, when he found that there was no hiding place for the gold fish, he used will power and prayers to suppress the urge and subsequently became freed from nicotine addiction.


He advised those who want stop smoking to reject suggestion by some people to go for an alternative to smoking like kola nut, bitter kola, and alcohol, sweets among others, disclosing that if one quits smoking to embrace kola nut for instance, he could again be addicted to kola nut which contains caffeine that is equally harmful if taken constantly in large quantity. “Once you have prayed to God to direct the Holy Spirit to help you stop smoking, let your yes be yes and no be no because anybody who said no to something and could not maintain his no, is a fool. And since I don’t want to be classified as a fool, I totally rejected smoking, and the urge disappeared after two weeks. Up till today, I have never gone back to smoking. Smoking is almost like a curse for an addicted smoker can even go and wake up his worst enemy for cigarettes, once the urge sets in.”


For Mr. Rowland Chukwuka, an Immigration expert, he started smoking in 1996 when he was still in secondary school, stopped in1997 only to go back in the year 2000. “I started smoking through the influence of friends in school. I felt that they are high up there and what they were doing by smoking was very good, and I wanted to belong to the big boys club. Again in 2003, I quit smoking only to return to this bad habit in 2007. It is not as if one deliberately went back, but it is only God Almighty that can help me stop smoking by taking care of me whenever Iam under pressure which actually triggers my quest for cigarettes. I assured my wife on several occasions that I was quitting, only to disappoint her by embracing smoking again.”

Mr. Chukwuka admitted like others that he was fully aware of the hazards linked to narcotics but said that addiction is a very dangerous thing for once you are hooked to a habit, it becomes very difficult to pull out. “Before I temporarily stopped smoking, I experienced terrible headache, which was near a migraine, my dress sense nose-dived as I found myself unkempt and could go without bath for days, stinking even to myself of congealed smoke. I was excommunicated in some quarters and I utterly appeared near irresponsible.”

Lamenting further on the plight of addiction, he said, “It is a big shame to even think that as a member of the Red Cross Society, I still indulge in this awful habit. I hope to one day develop the will power to quit smoking, if not for any other reason, for my children’s future, so that I will not die young and make them fatherless at tender ages. Non smokers should never think of embracing it because all those things you see on cigarettes adverts are false life styles, tailored to get you hooked to smoking. They should obey the warning by the Federal Ministry of Health that cigarettes smokers are liable to die young, for once diagnosed of cancer, then, your days are really numbered on this earth.”

A journalist, who simply called himself Jones, said that he has been smoking for the past 20 years. According to him, he left secondary school, came to Lagos to stay with his big uncles and then look for job. It happened that most of his uncles were smokers and he innocently grew up with them to believe that smoking was a good way of life and has been puffing since that regrettable informal initiation into the club of smokers by his uncles, which could be described as a navigational error. As he recounted, “I started smoking due to peer group pressure as I tried to belong. In those days in question, if you don’t smoke, womanize or drink what then makes you a good big boy. I craved to belong and even when I entered higher school in 1986/87, I continued smoking to maintain the big boy status on campus. I smoke whenever Iam tensed up or under pressure, if Iam drinking beer or when Iam lonely, driving alone back home after work. I saw smoking as part of growing up as those I emulated never told me that it was a dangerous habit until I became addicted because I did not realize what I was doing to myself in the first place and when to call it quits.”

Jones said that though he has not been clinically diagnosed of any ailment linked to tobacco smoking, “I knew that some serious pains I do feel at my back were induced by smoking because if I leave smoking for some time, the pains disappear only to return when I resume.” He disclosed that the warning on cigarettes packs meant to serve as deterrent has no effect on him, for if it did, he would have stopped smoking long time ago. “So the best I could do is to stop it before it stops me for if I don’t stop smoking, cigarette will stop me. A situation where hide my mouth from my wife even after using mouhfreshner so that she would not decode that I smoked is certainly not the best.”

Another journalist, who pleaded anonymity, told this writer that he derailed into this dangerous zone of nicotine consumption since 1975, made a failed attempt to stop in 1996 but resumed almost immediately and had not considered making another move to quit since that botched attempt. He stated that his smoking habit has caused him breathing difficulties, lack of energy to do strenuous jobs meant for young men, and has seriously lowered his libido or sex drive. Again, he disclosed that smoking made him cough always as he said that there is what is called smokers cough, which is recurrent whether one has cough or not. He experienced pains in his chest, lungs and had fractured relationships with women because of smoking.

This journalist, who is a prolific writer, condemned attitude of Africans to smokers when he blasted, “I don’t see why Africans claim to be holier than the Pope, as smoking in most parts of Africa is still regarded as sin with serious moral burden. Those who smoke in some parts of Africa are viewed as direct candidates to hell fire, who require no visas to enter that terrible place meant for Satan and his servants. In Europe where I grew up, people were concerned only with the health implications of nicotine to smokers and not whether they will go to hell or heaven. In Italy, ashtrays were placed on tables in classrooms and both students and teachers were free to express themselves by smoking if the urge was instigated.”

He disclosed that he is chain smoker who buys cigarettes in rolls and could smoke up to four packs in a day. Speaking further, this articulate journalist who from the way he puffed as our interaction interview progressed has actually mastered the act of smoking yelled again, “Don’t condemn or sympathize with smokers, feel for them and hope that they change because you may be suffering from other forms of addictions, more dangerous than cigarette. It is very difficult to quit smoking because nicotine is involved which is addictive. In my case, I once commenced fasting all in the struggle to stop smoking. During the fasting, whereas I did not eat food, I couldn’t resist the urge to add more nicotine into my system, and therefore I broke the fasting by smoking some sticks. It is indeed better not to start smoking than to think of the gruesome road that leads to quitting this habit.”

Asked if he is not afraid of Federal Ministry of Health’s warning that smokers are liable to die young, he exploded again, “That is outright hypocrisy. How can the government that granted license to these tobacco firms to operate in Nigeria turn around to discourage people from buying the products of companies that pay huge taxes to them? That is why nobody is taking the warning on cigarettes packs serious. If government is honest, let them revoke those firms’ operating licenses and ban them from producing cigarettes in Nigeria, because government posture only amounts to giving with the right hand, only to retrieve with the left hand, which is day light robbery.”

On how to stop the inherent dangers in smoking, he went philosophical; “Every age has its own poison. There was time when alcohol was in vogue, and then tobacco came on board. At a point in history, people took designers drugs like ecstasy and Chinese pill. Then Indian hemp or Marijuana became status conferral on musicians, actors, dancers among others sometimes ago. Today, they take cocaine, heroine, and tobacco. If only for medical implication, I support the clamor to ban cigarette smoking. But again, people will find other poisons to fill their system with but I believe that one day, cigarette will go out of fashion.”If cigarettes smokers themselves have testified that smoking is dangerous, what is the government doing to ensure that its citizens don’t die young as the result of smoking. Interestingly, the Federal Government instituted a case in court against three tobacco firms some years ago, demanding 22 billion British pounds for glamorizing cigarettes smoking through deceptive adverts targeted to lure youths into smoking. Though the case is yet to be decided, it is a step in the right direction but we had expected the Federal Government to consider the health implications of tobacco in its entirety before granting license to tobacco firms to start producing this dangerous product in our country just because government wanted funds from these companies.

Again, the compulsory inscription by cigarette makers on their packs, warning on the side effects of smoking is also encouraging, only that it is one thing to warn somebody to desist from doing something, but the onus to adhere to the warning lies on the reader. It now becomes a typical case of leading the horse to the river but not forcing it to drink. Worthy of mention and emulation by other states was the decision by the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja which banned smoking in public places on June 1, 2008, to ensure safer air and also prevent second-hand smokers from suffering innocently while the real smokers burn their hearts.

However, the silence maintained by the Federal Government on taking long lasting decision on how to control smoking or ban it out rightly is not in the interest of the nation. The Federal Government should take a cue from the governments of South Africa and Kenya who summoned courage to enact laws regulating smoking in their countries. In South Africa, a law banning smoking in public places and cigarette adverts was enacted, making the people to be conscious of their environment and health for there are penalties for offenders. Also in Kenya, there is a standing law which banned smoking in public places, especially in the capital city, Nairobi. Though the law became effective for sometimes before it slacked, it was a step in the right direction and we expect the Nigerian government to come out with a holistic direction that will make smoking in public places a thing of the past. In fact, against the background that tobacco firms target youths who are the leaders of tomorrow, should make the Federal Government react fast and safeguard the teeming population of our youths, before these glamorous tobacco adverts lure them into smoking today, only to render them useless by one tobacco related disease or the order tomorrow, when we shall look up to the youths to take over from the old and aging leaders.

For smokers who want to quit, physicians developed and monitored website, Healthcommunities.com suggested the following five steps towards final disengagement from cigarette smoking. The are, Get Ready, Get Support, Develop Strategies, Ask Doctor about Prescription Medications and Prevent Relapse. In getting ready, the smoker should outline reasons for quitting, keep diary on when he/she smokes and what triggers it on, research on available information in your area about quitting, set date for quitting and on this date, get rid of ashtrays, lighters and all tobacco products.In getting support, ask health provider for advice on quitting, sign up for a smoking cessation programmme, talk to friends and family for support and keep journal of your thoughts and feelings during this challenging process.

Developing strategies should make the person learn yoga, meditation, deep breathing, start physical exercises, talk to counselors and research into nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) options. In asking doctor about medications, consider medication that can help reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms and improve your chance of success, research your medication and other withdrawal treatment options. Finally according to these distinguished doctors, in preventing relapse, keep busy. When the urge comes, take one deep breath at a time until it passes. If you relapse, don’t give up; remember many people who quit had to try several times before succeeding.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Reducing Cancer begins with supporting Tobacco Control Bill


When news that former First Lady, Mrs. Maryam Babangida had died from ovarian cancer in far away United States (US) filtered through the airwaves on December 27, 2009, many Nigerians realised that if the latest cancer victim was wife the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, it is indeed time to check the killer disease. One way to fight cancer, a non communicable disease involving abnormal growth of cells, is keeping away from tobacco smoking.
According to data issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer affects people of all ages with the risk for most types increasing with age. With the increase of cancers recorded globally since 2008, the link between cigarette smoking and cancer has been brought to the fore.
Researchers have clarified that tobacco use is associated with many forms of cancer and that cancer caused about 13 per cent of all human deaths in 2007. Also, research has shown that cancer causes 90 per cent of lung cancer. These are some of the issues raised at a training on Cancer Reporting for Health Reporters organised by Journalists Advocacy on Tobacco & Health (JATH) in Lagos recently. Among resource persons at the workshop were Mrs. Ebun Anozie, Chief Executive Officer, Care Organisation Public Enlightenment, also known as C.O.P.E., Akinbode Oluwafemi, Programme Officer, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Tosin Orogun of JATH, among others.
Tobacco’s role in increasing the chance of lung cancer is one of the most widely known of tobacco’s harmful effects on human health. Decades of research has demonstrated the link between tobacco use and cancer in many sites in the body in addition to the lungs. Other parts of the body that cancer can affect are the head and neck, (coveringof the esophagus, larynx, tongue, salivary glands, lip, mouth, and pharynx), urinary bladder and kidneys, uterine cervix, breast, pancreas, and colon.
According to the Programme Officer, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Akinbode Oluwafemi, there are about 599 approved additives in a stick of cigarette. He said, “Cigarette smoke is proven to contain over 4,000 toxic and cancer causing chemicals. The list is long: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia to name a few.”
He noted that smoking is a major risk factor for different cancers and apart from the high cost of cancer treatment and the infrastructural challenges, smoking related cancers account for 30 per cent of cancer related deaths.
Therefore, taking prompt action to check cancer related deaths becomes more compelling now considering the large number of smokers in the nation. Data issued by the WHO states that 17 per cent of Nigerian adults smoke, resulting in 17 million Nigerians. “And because research has shown that half of smokers are going to die of tobacco-related illnesses, that means 6.5 million Nigerians are going to die as a result of that smoking habit,” he said.
Consequently, Akinbode said that is why it is very urgent for government to begin to take actions in order to reduce tobacco use in Nigeria.
While he noted that tobacco related deaths are preventable, Programme Officer of ERA/FoEN urged the government to put in place policies that will discourage people from putting up the habit of tobacco smoking and for people who are already smoking to quit.
A speedy passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill 2009, sponsored by Senator, Olorunnimbe Mamora will help, Akinbode said.
The bill, which has passed through the First Reading at the National Assembly seeks to domesticate the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that was negotiated under the WHO. Nigeria became a party to that convention in 2005.
Since Nigeria is now a part of that Convention, he said, “We should domesticate all the provisions of that international treaty.”
The provisions talks about Tobacco Demand Reduction, the mechanisms of which include ban on advert, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products, raising taxes on them, creating smoke-free environment for the citizens and making the public places smoke-free.
Similarly, it includes awareness creation and obligations on cessation of tobacco smoking.The other side of it that has to do with manufacturing talks about packaging and labeling of tobacco products.
How do manufacturers package tobacco products? Programme Officer of ERA/FoEN said they have to put in place appropriate warnings on cigarette parks.
“For instance, Akinbode said the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommends 50 per cent pictorial warnings, meaning that manufacturers have to put on the cigarette park pictorials on what is cancer, that cigarettes cause impotence, that cigarettes smoke is dangerous for unborn babies and pregnant women, among others.”
According to him, these pictorial warnings are already being put on cigarette packages in some African countries. He said, “For instance, Mauritius has even moved a step further to say that those warnings will occupy 75 per cent of the display area on the cigarette park Besides, it is the same companies that are here that are manufacturing cigarettes in Mauritius. So, they don’t have any excuse for not complying with those laws in Nigeria.”

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Health Rish Of Smoking...Death on the increase



'One of the major perenial epidemic confronting mankind is death from tobacco'

'Of the three bilion people who smoke daily worldwide, 250 are women, 22 percent of women live in developed countries and nine per cent of them in developing countries'

Friday, May 15, 2009

‘13m Nigerians’re Smokers’

From Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo,

Osun State, Nigeria: The average rate of active smokers in Nigeria was yesterday put at 13 million , while adult smoking rate was put at 17 percent.
Speaking at the sensitisation meeting for members of Osun State House of Assembly on Osun State proposed Smoke Free Bill, the State Commissioner for Health,Lanre Afolabi, noted that since half smokers die of tobacco related diseases, it also showed that over 6.5 million Nigerians are on death row due to tobacco addiction.
The commissioner stressed that it was alarming that in 2003 the overall prevalence of tobacco for youths in Nigeria was 18.1 percent and for senior executive 13.9 percent. He also gave the figure of the rapidly growing annual average rate of tobacco use in Africa and developing countries as 4.7 percent compared with the 3.4 percent of other countries.


He pointed out that in 2006 , the data recorded was 9.527 tobacco related causes in 26 state owned health facilities, and within the same period. The commissioner said the bill was set to protect the present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption in the state.


While speaking on the Bill, the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Adejare Bello, said the Bill seeks to provide a legal framework for the control of the use of tobacco products and exposure to tobacco smoke, in order to protect the health of the individual. He described tobacco smoking as a major risk factor for about 44 different kind of diseases, saying there are over 4,000 carcinogens in tobacco smoking.



http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=143401
http://anax1a.pressmart.net/nigeriantribune/NT/NT/2009/05/05/ArticleHtmls/05_05_2009_023_007.shtml http://allafrica.com/stories/200905150116.html
http://odili.net/news/source/2009/may/22/703.html
http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-275366.0.html

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Group urges Senate to pass anti-tobacco bill

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Journalists Action on Tobacco and Health (JATH) has urged the Senate to speed up the passage of the 2009 National Tobacco Control Bill to allow for commencement of quick implementation of the WHO’s Framework convention on Tobacco Control(FCTC) which Nigeria ratified in 2005.

In a statement signed by the group’s Programme Manager, Mr. Yinka Olugbade, the group said the passage of the bill would help reduce tobacco-related deaths.

The group also commended Senator Olorunimbe Mamora for sponsoring the bill and working to ensure that it has passed the second reading.

“The Senate will be doing this nation a lot of good by passing this bill on time because the burden of cancer in Nigeria is appreciable and tobacco contributes a lot to this. According to the World Health Organisation, there are an estimated 100,000 new cancer cases in the country each year although observers believe the figure could become as high as 500,000 new cases annually by 2010.

“It is feared that by 2020, cancer incidence for Nigerian males and females may rise to 90.7/100,000 and 100.9/100,000 respectively. It is also anticipated that by 2020, death rates from cancer in Nigerian males and females may reach 72.7/100,000 and 76/100,000 respectively. But this only represents a tip of the iceberg if projections by the World Health Organization (WHO) are anything to go by.

“ In 2005 cancer killed eighty nine thousand people in Nigeria with fifty four thousand of this figure below the age of seventy. Essentially, the most common cancers documented in Nigeria to date are cancers of the uterus and breast for women and liver and prostate cancers for men. But many of these deaths can be avoided. Over 40% of all cancers can be prevented. Others can be detected early, treated and cured.

“With the passage of this bill, which will properly regulate tobacco use, cancer and other tobacco-related diseases are bound to be on the rebound,” the group noted.

Noting that a part of the bill contains incorporation of Pictorial warnings on the pack of cigarettes,JATH said,"There is no doubt that the sponsor of the Bill and the Nigerian Senate meant well for the welfare of its citizens.

"Incorporation of Pictorial Warning on tobacco product packets is important as majority of the tobacco users in this country will be able to have informed choice. World Health Organization (WHO), particularly approves of tobacco health warnings that contain both pictures and words because they are the most effective at convincing people to quit.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

DOWNLOAD A COPY- NIGERIA NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL BILL 2009








The NIGERIA NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL BILL 2009 is been Sponsored by Distinguished Senator Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora of the Lagos-East Senatorial Constituency.

A copy of the Final Version is now available for download

LEAD DEBATE ON THE NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL BILL, 2009

BY SEN. OLORUNNIMBE MAMORA


Preamble

It is established fact, both scientifically and legally, that tobacco is dangerous as it contains over 4,000 potent, toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, associated with over 200 diseases, preventable deaths and a significant drain on world economy, particularly the healthcare sector. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and several organizations are unanimous that tobacco consumption is a scourge; failure to control its spread would have serious and fatal consequences for citizens of the world.

The increasing hostility and regulatory restrictions from western and other more developed nations have caused tobacco companies to flock to developing countries in order to increase their business and profitability. Sadly, developing countries like ours, with notorious drawbacks of illiteracy, corruption, weak institutions and regulatory competencies, but which have teeming populations, are increasingly becoming targets of the exploitative and deliberately deceptive strategies of marketing by these profit- driven companies. Furthermore, Nigeria's health system remains inadequate and unable to cope with the scourge and the impending epidemic. A majority of smokers in Nigeria are illiterate, living in rural areas that hardly have sufficient facilities to treat tobacco related diseases. The major tertiary hospitals do not have the necessary interventions that are so important and needed timely. Consequently there is an urgent need to enact legislation to curb this preventable scourge, with appropriate modalities for holding the industry accountable for the injuries it causes.

WHO promoted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which is a model legislation that many health-conscious countries have signed and ratified, Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention and as such has an obligation to enact the required legislation controlling the distribution and consumption of tobacco products. It is further to our obligations under this Convention that I seek to introduce this legislation, with the range of restrictions and provisions therein.

Justification

Most western countries have enacted similar legislation, which has successfully diminished high smoking and exposure rates. Legislation, similar to the one at hand, is also known to have brought about significant tangible benefits for the health systems in those countries. Of the several efforts and initiatives worldwide, the most effective have been when lawmakers rise in unison to make the wide ranging provisions to control the adverse effect of tobacco, as contained in this Bill. The industry has been known only to change its behaviour when it is confronted with serious statutory provisions that regulate and control its operations. Further, some of the greatest success stories in tobacco control both legally and health-wise have been due to legislation, since they have had the singular effect of holding the industry accountable and responsible for the injuries it causes.

Tobacco is the only product that when used as designed by manufacturers will surely kill or harm the user. Legislation is required to compel tobacco manufacturers to take responsibility for their actions, to secure and safeguard our future by curbing the consumption by our youth and children and to ensure that our citizens remain healthy, in a smoke-free environment. In the absence of comprehensive legislation, Nigeria would be unable to either regulate the industry or protect our current and future generations from the hazards of tobacco consumption.

We do not only need to act, but we need to act urgently. Current statistics show that in Nigeria:

i) Smoking and exposure to smoke has gone up to 20% from 2% in the 1980's
ii) The smoking rate amongst young women under 18 has increased by over 16% in the last 10years.
iii) 90% of cocaine, hemp and other drug user begin such habits from smoking cigarettes.
iv) Most armed robbers, rapist and cultists admit to either smoking or using drugs before embarking on their nefarious activities.

The Tobacco industry has long deceived us into believing that smoking is a matter of choice. Most smokers picked the habit as children, from peer pressure or in school, all in a bid to 'belong'. Most countries in the world, inclusive of Nigeria, understand that persons under 18 are incapable of making informed choices, hence the age of voting, criminal responsibility and obtaining drivers license is pegged at 18 and above. From the health standpoint alone, the reality of escalation of tobacco consumption and its adverse effects in our midst is staggering. In Lagos State, reports from 11 of 26 public hospitals where research was conducted show that about 2 people die everyday from tobacco related diseases. The average tobacco related disease can take up to 20years to manifest. If what we are seeing now is alarming and only a result of past consumption, we cannot even begin to imagine what to expect in the future, now that smoking rates have increased dramatically. The time to act is now!

A sober consideration for us as Lawmakers is that it is not just a question of pro-activity when we pass this law; it is a constitutional duty and responsibility. Our Constitution mandates us, under its Chapter 11, The Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, to enact laws to protect all vulnerable groups(including women and children), our communities the society and the environment.

We are grappling with many contending issues of priority at this stage of our development. We certainly need to provide leadership to our people and other parts of this Continent by creating a system where the tobacco industry can be compelled to submit to appropriate regulation and control.

GOAL OF THE BILL
Essentially the proposed Legislation, if supported, will succeed in providing a framework for the:


· Protection of the Nation's public health by enhancing public awareness of the hazards and dangers associated with tobacco use.
· Protection of young persons and others from the inducement to use tobacco and tobacco products and the consequent dependence on them by restricting access to tobacco.
· Protection of the rights and health of non-smokers, endangered through environmental tobacco smoke whilst also protecting the environment.
· Controlling and restricting the sale of tobacco in sticks and in public places.
· Providing effective warnings in graphics and languages spoken in Nigeria, such measures being most beneficial to the non-literate of our population.
· Restricting the promotion of tobacco products, adverts and sponsorship which particularly target minors and promote industry-funded awareness, campaigns and education.
· Affording us with the appropriate legal mechanisms to assist Government and injured persons to seek redress against the tobacco industry for injuries caused as a consequence of tobacco consumption.
· Making the profit-driven tobacco industry responsible and accountable for their activities, as they currently remain oblivious to the adverse effects and concerns that emanate from the consumption of its harmful products.


CONCLUSION

Our Constitution under Section 14 subsection 2(b) specifically states that
"the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government".
If we passed this bill into law, we would have fulfilled a fundamental objective of government more so as responsive and responsible representatives of our constituents.

I thank you in anticipation of your most cherished support.




Sen. Olorunnimbe Mamora.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Introducing: Nigeria National Tobacco Control Bill 2009

The Nigeria tobacco control bill is a comprehensive law when passed to regulate the manufacturing, advertising distribution and consumption of tobacco products in Nigeria.
It is a bill that s aimed at domesticating the Framework Convection on Tobacco Control (FCTC) because Nigeria is a party to that international convention. The keys highlights of the bill are prohibition of smoking in public places; to include restaurant and bar, public transportation, schools, hospitals e.t.c. A ban on all forms of direct and indirect advertising, prohibition of sales of cigarette 1000-meter radius of areas designated as non-smoking, mass awareness about the danger of smoking as well as the formation of committee that will guide government on the issue of tobacco control in the country.