The anti-smoking bill currently in the National Assembly has joyfully, brought unto the front burner the issue of tobacco smoking and its health implications. The bill, which has gone through second reading in the Senate, seeks for an act to regulate and control the production, sale, advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products in the country. This, certainly, is long overdue. While the spirited resistance of the tobacco companies is a major impediment, government should not succumb to blackmail from such entrenched interests.
The bill, has also expectedly attracted mixed reactions from the lawmakers. While some have maintained that banning tobacco has health benefits, others say the move has economic implications for the nation. The challenge before the lawmakers, therefore, is to balance the health and economic implications of a no-tobacco society.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health for further legislative input with the Committee expected to conduct a public hearing before submitting a report. That Committee should be proactive in taking the best interest of the country into consideration and public health should not be sacrificed on the altar of supposed economic gain.
There is no doubt that unregulated production and consumption of tobacco products pose serious health risks. This explains why in most parts of the world, tobacco smoking is being banned. The United States and many European countries are spearheading the fight against tobacco production and smoking. Faced with a bleak future, the tobacco manufacturing companies are shifting their base and targeting poor African countries with teeming youthful population. This trend should not be allowed to continue.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has always used the occasion of the “World No Tobacco Day” (WNTD), to sensitize nations on the dangers of tobacco smoking and efforts being made to protect populations around the world. The theme of this year’s “World No Tobacco Day” which held the other day is “Raise Taxes on Tobacco”. According to the WHO, “raising taxes on tobacco is both the most effective and cost-effective way of reducing tobacco use around the world”.
WHO’s estimate that tobacco smoking would kill more than eight million people annually by 2030 is frightening and it shows that the battle against tobacco is far from being won. And this is attributable to the unrelenting marketing onslaught of tobacco manufacturers.
Assertive advertisements displayed on any available media space portray false satisfaction to smokers. The caution on tobacco packs that cigarette smoking can kill or is injurious to health does not seem to restrain the addicts. Millions are dying silently annually from tobacco related health problems. It has also been found that tobacco is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases.
WHO has reportedly released a technical brief based on the 2008 guidelines for implementation of Article 5.3 of the 2003 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to help guide countries on ways to combat “tobacco industry interference” in the anti-tobacco fight.
The tobacco industry would seem to have become a big mafia made up of rich multinational operators who can have the capacity to use all kinds of tactics to achieve any aim. But governments are urged to resist the tactics of the tobacco companies. Under the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative, “National leaders are urged to resist these tactics and use the full force of the Convention to protect the hard-won gains to safeguard people’s health from the scourge of tobacco”.
Of note is the fact that multinational tobacco companies that are finding it increasingly difficult to operate in the developed world are relocating to Africa and other developing regions of the world apparently, due to weak, corrupt governments and the good market prospects they have found in the teeming youthful population. Their aim is to lure this segment of the population into the culture of tobacco smoking, notwithstanding the health hazards.
In Nigeria, where more than 60 per cent of the population is youthful, the British-American Tobacco (BAT) company has been doing its best not to discourage people from smoking. Both the WHO and anti-tobacco campaigners have even accused the company of “industry interference” in public health policy-making, a claim which the company has rejected. It has consistently defended what it sees as “its right to engage transparently on issues affecting its legitimate business selling a legal, highly regulated product that mainly adults choose to use”.
No doubt, there is need for public enlightenment on the dangers of tobacco smoking. Government at all levels can use the social media and mass media, newspapers, radio and TV jingles, as well as bill boards to discourage people from smoking. People should be educated that nicotine is a poison and addiction to it is dangerous to health and could lead to early death. They should be educated that the lifestyle portrayed in tobacco advertisement is false and has no benefits.
The bill at the National Assembly is coming at the most appropriate time and the lawmakers should pass it into law.
