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Groups Hail Senate over Tobacco Bill  

The public hearing on the National Tobacco Control Bill, conducted this week by the Senator Iyabo Obasanjo Bello-led Senate Committee on Health, has been commended by international agencies and non-governmental organisations.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative in Nigeria, who was represented at the Public hearing by Dr. Kayode Soyinka, said the hearing was a significant step by the Upper Chamber to rescue the lives of millions of Nigerians from tobacco addiction.

“We fully support this effort which is to domesticate the WHO-initiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Nigeria became a party to this Convention in October 2005 and this bill fully conforms to the provisions of the international treaty,” Soyinka said.

In a memorandum to the public hearing, signed by its president, Matt Myers, a leading tobacco control group in the United States, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CFTK), expressed support for the tobacco control bill “in its current form” and urged the Senate to pass it promptly.

CTFK said: “The National Tobacco Control Bill is essential to bring Nigeria into compliance with its international obligations under the Framework

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