Tobacco.org

LETTER: Let’s Emulate America on Tobacco  

What is strikingly startling is the fact that more than 400,000 Americans die from tobacco-related diseases annually. Although we may not have accurate statistics on how many people die from it in Nigeria, I know, the situation in Nigeria is no less disturbing than the situation in America hence the need and urgency to do without delay, what the American congress has done.

Nigeria does not have the capacity in terms of health facilities to tackle adequately the menace posed by tobacco consumption and must save her ignorant smoker-citizens the pain of untimely death and cancer this product causes. The whole word is moving on the fast lane of checking and curbing avoidable deaths and we must not be left behind. There must be a vigorous campaign to sensitize the public on the dangers of smoking and consumption of other tobacco products and it is high time the government intervened in regulating the nicotine level of tobacco products manufactured in Nigeria or imported into Nigeria.

Now that the American Congress has taken this bold stop, tobacco manufacturers will begin to shift their market targets to the Third World countries an the only way to check the infiltration of our country with unwholesome tobacco products rejected in America is to adopt a similar measure.

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FG Bans Fresh Investment in Tobacco  

The Federal Government may have banned fresh investments in the tobacco and allied industry. Smoking and the pervasive use of tobacco products is a risk factor for several diseases and has been increasing in many developing countries. In 2000, 4·83 million of premature deaths in the world were attributable to smoking with 2·41 million occuring in developing countries and 2·43 million in industrialised countries.

Executive Secretary and CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mustafa Bello, made this disclosure at the just concluded 2nd Nigeria-Japan Business and Investment Forum, which took place in the cities of Osaka and Tokyo.

Bello, had in response to an inquiry from a prospective Japanese investor, said that the Federal Government in line with global efforts at stemming the use of tobacco products and isolating manufacturers of the product may not be well disposed to fresh investments in that sector.

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LETTER: FDA tobacco regulation: Can Nigeria follow suit?  

What is strikingly startling is the fact that more than 400,000 Americans die from tobacco-related diseases annually. Although we may not have accurate statistics on how many people die from it in Nigeria but I know, the situation in Nigeria is no less disturbing than the situation in America, hence the need and urgency to do without delay, what the American Congress has done.

Nigeria does not have the capacity in terms of health facilities to tackle adequately the menace posed by tobacco consumption and must save her ignorant smoker-citizens the pain of untimely death and cancer this product causes. The whole world is moving on the fast lane of checking and curbing avoidable deaths and we must not be left behind. There must be a vigorous campaign to sensitise the public on the dangers of smoking and consumption of other tobacco products and it is high time the government intervened in regulating the nicotine level of tobacco products manufactured in Nigeria or imported into Nigeria.

Now that the American Congress has taken this bold step, tobacco manufacturers will begin to shift their market targets to the Third World countries and the only way to check the infiltration of our country with unwholesome tobacco products rejected in America is to adopt a similar measure.

Our National Assembly men must realise that being a Senator or a Representative is more than fighting for constituency project money or embarking on a foreign jamboree. They owe the people they represent the duty to make laws that positively impact on their lives, laws that ensure the enhancement of their health status. Nigerians including the President have shown concern about the number of bills passed into law so far by the National Assembly and the value of such bills in terms of their direct bearing and effect on the well-being of citizens of Nigeria.

It is time for the National Assembly to wake up to their responsibilities and start doing what is beneficial to the generality of Nigerians especially the endangered species like smokers even if the move to help them is unpopular among them.

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‘Many Nigerians Are Ignorant Of The Dangers In Smoking’ – Findings 

The World Health Organisation (WHO), set aside May 31, every year for the celebration of ``the World No Tobacco Day''.

The day was inaugurated in 1987 by the organisation to draw global attention to the prevalence of tobacco use and its attendant health hazards.

But as the world marked the 2009 edition of the event, many Nigerian smokers and even non-smokers are still ignorant of the dangers of smoking.

For Malam Nuhu Abubakar, who operates a provision store (kiosk) at Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt, the cigarette business brings him more money daily.

He said that cigarette smokers patronised his shop more than other customers. . . .

However, if smokers in Nigeria realise the health hazards of the habit, it would make some of them to stop smoking.

Perhaps, available statistics from WHO on smoking could make some of them to quit the habit.

WHO said that about 15 billion cigarettes are sold daily or 10 million sold every minute.

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FG to Enforce Ban on Smoking  

The Federal Government is set to enforce the no smoking ban in public places in the Federal Capital Territory and advocate for a legislation to ensure its total ban in the country.

The Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin who gave the hint while speaking during the world no tobacco, lamented that 'tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world, responsible for many diseases.

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Nass Tasked On New Tobacco Bill  

JUST as the World Health Organization (WHO) last week urged governments to require that all tobacco packages include pictorial warnings to show the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use, a call has been made to the members of the National Assembly to urgently pass the new tobacco bill standing before the senate with a view to persuade tobacco companies in Nigeria to start putting pictorial and graphical health warnings on their packages as it is done in other countries of the world.Making this call at a seminar organised by the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) on the 2009 World No Tobacco Day in Lagos, President of NHF, Engr. Oluyomi Adeyemi-Wilson regretted that tobacco companies in Nigeria have not been putting pictorial and graphical health warnings on their packages as it is done in countries like Canada, India, Singapore amongst others.

Stating that the theme of this year's celebration was "Tobacco Health Warnings," he explained that health warnings on tobacco product packaging are critical to any effective tobacco control strategy.

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• Gombe files N591 billion suit against tobacco companies  

THE Gombe State government has dragged five tobacco companies before the Gombe State High Court on charges that they have been targeting minors with their products in the state in the last 20 years with a view to making them addicts.

In the suit before a high court judge, Abdul Hamed Yusuf, the state government is demanding N591 billion from British American Tobacco (Nigeria) Ltd, International Tobacco Limited, British America Tobacco Plc, British America Tobacco (Investment) Ltd, and Philip Morris International.

It is one of several class action suits filed by some states and the Federal Government against tobacco companies operating in the country. . . .

The case has been adjourned to July 2, 2009 to allow the plaintiff serve all the parties in the suit.

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• ‘13m Nigerians’re Smokers’ 

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.

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TV programme: “Bannatyne takes on big tobacco” 

A BBC TV programme on 1 July 2008, called ‘Bannatyne takes on big tobacco’, painted a very negative picture of our business in three countries in Africa, including alleging that we target children to sell cigarettes and break our own strict International Marketing Standards.

Viewers who trust the BBC to be fair, impartial and balanced should know that this was not a BBC news documentary, governed by BBC rules obliging news reporters to be fair, impartial and balanced. By the producers’ own admission, it was “a personal view”, putting across very strong opinions, subjective views and judgements made by one individual, a TV personality called Duncan Bannatyne, who has a campaigning anti-tobacco stance.

We don’t want children to smoke.

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• Anti-Tobacco Bill Won't Affect Firms - Adedibu  

Chairman Senate Committee on Industry, Kamorudeen Adedibu, has assured that the anti-tobacco bill will be amended before it is passed to law.

Adedibu, who spoke with journalists in Ibadan at the weekend, maintained that the bill will be amended in such a way that it will not be to the disadvantage of tobacco companies in the country.

According to him, the bill is currently before the Senate Committee on Health headed by Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello. . . .

"We know that cigarette smoking is not good, but we want to find job opportunities for our people. The bill will be amended in such a way that it will not force tobacco companies in the country to close down," he said.

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AKINREMI: The People v. Big Tobacco 

How many people are we willing to sacrifice as a nation to continue to keep the tobacco industry in business? Since the Senate pushed the National Tobacco Bill 2009 through Second Reading in February and mandating Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-led Senate Health Committee to finalise work on the Bill and re-present to the National Assembly for enactment into law, the tobacco industry has become more aggressive in its usual tactics of distorting the truth both in the public places and at the chambers of the National Assembly.

The issue is what does regulation of tobacco product seeks to address in Nigeria. The bill at the Senate would mandate a total reformation and restructuring of how tobacco products are manufactured, marketed and distributed in this country. . . .

According to the WHO, “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.”

The Senate will therefore 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.

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OLATOYE: The national tobacco control bill 

A number of provisions in the bill will create such challenges for the legal domestic tobacco industry that their continued existence will become untenable and will be forced to shut down operations in Nigeria. For example, Clause 23 (2) (c) says, “Any citizen concerned about tobacco can enforce the provisions of the law.” In enforcing the law, such a person can seize any thing if he or she believes that the law is being broken. This means that anybody can enter a tobacco company and seize anything at anytime. No company can operate under such conditions. They will be forced to shut down their operations

If this happens, it will impact on the livelihood of the approximately 2,500 people who are directly employed by the industry; and the over 300,000 people (such as farmers, suppliers, retailers, etc.) who indirectly earn a living from the industry. This certainly has a negative impact on a key element of the seven-point agenda of the current administration: poverty reduction.

In addition, government will lose over N100bn in revenue from excise duty, import duties, VAT, corporate tax, PAYE, etc.

BAT Nigeria is one of the few manufacturing success stories in Nigeria . . .

The Bill will prohibit philanthropy by tobacco companies. This means, for example, that the BATN Foundation will be proscribed. The Foundation has, since establishment, undertaken various community development activities across Nigeria in the areas of potable water supply, agricultural development,

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Group Urges Senate to Pass Anti-Tobacco Bill  

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 provisions contained in the bill .A statement by its Programme Manager, Mr. Yinka Olugbade, 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 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 with tobacco as the leading factor," he added.

According to the World Health Organisation, (WHO) there are 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.

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Nigeria, Others Seek Compliance from Tobacco 

“Philip Morris International and others have a history of working at cross-purposes with the letter of the law and public health,” said Kathy Mulvey, international policy director for Corporate Accountability International. “This gathering of governments and civil society is a critical opportunity to forge the institutions and grassroots movements essential to spare our children the tobacco epidemic we face today.”

At the conference, Corporate Accountability International and the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT), a network of more than 100 organizations from over 50 countries are generating a photo petition demanding the corporation halt such activities globally as required by law.

The network is exposing the globe-wide interference of British America Tobacco and Philip Morris International in health policies including BAT lobbyists currently spearheading a campaign against an anti-tobacco bill which has far-reaching impact on the well-being of Nigerians and Philip Morris’ interference in Mexico’s efforts to implement the global tobacco treaty which prohibits so-called “corporate social responsibility,” which acts as public relations under a different name. Philip Morris is currently sponsoring and promoting the Marlboro MXBeat concert series which appeal primarily to youth.

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• Anti-Tobacco Bill: 400,000 jobs on the line 

If passed into law, the National Tobacco Bill which is currently on the floor of the National Assembly will lead to at least 400,000 Nigerians being thrown into the unemployment market.

This was the view expressed by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Industries, Senator Kamorudeen Adedibu while speaking with reporters recently in Iseyin, Oyo State at the 2008 Farmers' Productivity Day/Award Ceremony.

Describing the bill as a "misplaced priority" for the country, Adedibu who represents Oyo South in the Senate also vowed to mobilize his colleagues in the upper legislative chamber to ensure that the bill is defeated.

"The bill is actually more than regulation. It is more than that. The bill if it goes through and Insha Allah, it won't, will render the tobacco companies useless. It is going to increase smuggling and most especially, it is going to stop the necessary means of livelihood for over 400,000 people," the Senator stated.

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