Group urges NASS on Tobacco Bill

-Mahmud Lalo

 

 

 Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth (ERA/FoEN) has called on the National Assembly to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill into law, saying further delay could lead to the loss of more lives in the country.

A statement by the organization’s Head of Media, Philip Jakpor, said the non-passage of the bill was responsible for smoking among young people in the country as reflected in the recently released Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

“While we acknowledge the commitment of the Senate to the delivery of good governance and promotion of public health, your intervention and further action to save the bill will be appreciated. It is now time to act to save the lives of our youths,” he said.

 SOURCE

Smoking - 250 Toxic Chemicals Identified

Yinka Kolawole

Osogbo — A medical health researcher with the College of Health Sciences , Osun State University , Dr. Olanrewaju Onigbogi, has identified 250 chemicals that are toxic and carcinogenic in nature to human health that are endemic in smoking.
According to him, second hand smoke equally causes respiratory discomfort and allergic symptoms on the short term and cardiovascular disease respiratory illness, and lung cancer which is responsible for an estimate of 40,000 deaths in non smokers annually in Africa .
Consequently, to reduce the danger inherent in smoking, the researcher has called on government to enforce a law that would make it mandatory on management of public institutions to designate clearly marked "No smoking" areas in enclosed spaces and encourage clients to keep the laws.
The health researcher, who made the call yesterday at the public presentation of result of Survey of Second Hand Smoking Status (SUSHS) conducted in September, 2010 in Osogbo, Ilesa and Ile-Ife all metropolitan towns in Osun State, said air quality of smoking was monitored by using the TSI SidePak AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitor (TSI, Saint Paul, Minnesota).
He noted that though smoking could be restricted to open air places in the hospitality industry yet, partially enclosed spaces are still dangerous to the health of the workers and should therefore not be encouraged.
Dr. Onigbogi opined that 44.1% of the people are aware of any law prohibiting tobacco smoking in public places in Nigeria while 34.1% were aware of similar law through radio and television adding that short-term exposures to secondhand smoke may increase the risk of heart attack.
He however insisted that secondhand smoke causes long and short term health risks saying that no level of secondhand smoke are safe and should therefore be eliminated in all public places.
According to him, "eliminating smoking in indoor spaces fully protects nonsmokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating building cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to second smoke".
The researcher noted that 81.8% have expressed support for the current measure at enforcing the tobacco control law particularly in Osun State while 84.2% supported the introduction of additional measures in terms of enforcement and implementation of tobacco control law in Osun State .

ERA petitions Senate President on Tobacco Bill

By Omafume Amurun

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has implored Senate President, David Mark to follow through his remarks last year on the readiness of the Senate to speedily pass the National Tobacco Control Bill (NTCB) into law, cautioning that further delay on the draft legislation will cost the nation more lives.
ERA/FoEN, in a petition to the Senate President made available to the Niger Delta Standard today 11th October, 2010  and signed by its Executive Director, Pastor Nnimmo Bassey, the group urged the Nigerian government to sanction the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) for targeting young Nigerians in a bid to recruit them as replacement smokers through glamorization of smoking and ‘secret smoking parties’ held in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country.
According to the environmental justice group, the non passage of the Bill was responsible for the increased rate of smoking among young people in Nigeria as reflected in the recently released Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) and the mammoth sum that most states are now paying for healthcare of victims of tobacco-related illnesses.
The National Tobacco Control Bill, sponsored by Senator Olorunimbe Mamora went for Public Hearing July 2009 and received overwhelming support from members of the house but the report of that Hearing was yet to be returned to the Senate plenary for eventual passage into a law.
“The result of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey conducted in some states recently which revealed that many more school children fantasize smoking is indeed telling of what the tobacco companies have done to the psyche of our youth. In some areas in Adamawa State the youth smoking rate was put   to 33.9 percent, a very disturbing trend,” said ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Pastor Bassey.
According to Pastor Bassey, “It is saddening that even after the complimentary comments of the Senate President, who declared last year that action will be taken on the Bill within two weeks of the Public Hearing, nothing has happened even after a year.
ERA ‘s position is further reinforced by the fact that as Party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the Nigerian government owes its citizens an obligation to domesticate the treaty.”
‘While we acknowledge the commitment of the Senate to the delivery of good governance and promotion of public health, your intervention and further actions to save the bill will be appreciated. It is now time to act to save the lives of our youth that now stand threatened by the activities of BATN and other tobacco merchants,” Pastor Bassey noted.
Among others recommendations, ERA is praying the Senate to, as a matter of national urgency commence debate on the report of the Public Hearing and pass the Bill into law

 SOURCE

NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL BILL - IT MUST BE LAW!

PASS THE NATIONAL TOBACCO CONTROL BILL NOW

ERA calls for passage of tobacco control bill into law

ERA petitions Mark on Tobacco Bill