The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has kick started a national tobacco-free campaign with the tag line, “Don’t Burn Their Future”.
The campaign is a part of an effort to ensure a healthier future for Nigerian youths, and to combat the growing consumption of tobacco products among them.
According to the apex consumer regulatory body, the country could no longer tolerate the devastating consequences of tobacco consumption on the youths, who no doubt constitutes the most productive component of a nation’s population, and by extension the far-reaching consequences of the tobacco industry on economic growth, social development and national productivity.
The foregoing stark realities were disclosed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, in his keynote address at the formal launch of the campaign on Monday, January 22, 2024, at the Civic Centre, Lagos, as reported by Independent.
Pate noted that for every $1 a country gains from tobacco, $3 more is expended on healthcare costs because of its ill effects, even as he asserted that tobacco harms the national economies, sustainable development and environment as well as re-enforces, recycles and perpetuates poverty, especially among low-income earners who invest their money to service their tobacco addiction.
He explained that the study by the Nigerian Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa showed that the burden of tobacco on the country’s healthcare system is NN634 billion, of which N 526.6 billion is tobacco-related treatment costs.
The minister in the same vein added that there is a need to ensure that the tobacco industry is strictly regulated by the country’s legislation and global best practices. He said the tobacco industry, in ensuring that its business remains profitable, has harnessed its energy in flooding the markets with newer products, while circumventing the law on tobacco advertisement, promotions, celebrity endorsements, corporate social responsibility and recruitment of new users to replace the old tobacco users who are in transition to premature mortality.
The minister applauded the FCCPC’s legitimate regulatory moves, and sanctioning recently taken against the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) for indulging in anti-tobacco control and anti-competition practices, and said the sanction is in line with Article 19 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires parties to consider legislative action where necessary to deal with the tobacco industry’s criminal and civil liability, including compensation where appropriate.
He disclosed that the ministry is glad that FCCPC has chosen to fund the advocacy campaign from part of the penalty imposed on BATN.
Speaking from the same perspective, the Acting Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Adamu Abdullahi, said despite the commitment to the signing and ratification of global initiatives as well as the enactment of comprehensive national legislation, tobacco epidemic has become a significant contributor to preventable health issues, affecting both urban and rural communities as well as the economically-productive population.
As gathered, “The “Don’t Burn Their Future” campaign is aimed at informing the youths about the risks associated with youth tobacco use, and the same vein highlighting the need for preventive measures to discourage early initiation into smoking.
“The initiative will engage various segments of society, including tobacco smokers, non-smoking adults, families, and retailers. By enlisting retailers as agents of change, strictly verifying the age of those seeking tobacco products, the campaign aims to create a tobacco-free environment and fulfill Nigeria’s obligations under international agreements”.
