The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently put the number of people who lose their lives to tobacco-related diseases at over seven million yearly. The agency also said the substance costs households and governments over $1.4 trillion (about N504 trillion) within the say period.
This scary revelation, which came ahead of the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) celebration on Wednesday, May 31, calls for more focused global and national action against tobacco use. Such action should seek to combat environmental pollution and the threats that tobacco smoking poses to human health and development.
The theme of this year’s celebration, “Tobacco use—a threat to development,” aptly underscores the danger of tobacco use. To address this threat, the global agency has urged member-countries to include tobacco control mechanisms in their national policies, plans and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation frameworks.
It also tasked countries to implement the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control, which includes raising taxes to reduce the demand for the product. In the same vein, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the Regional Director of WHO Africa Office, said that the revenue generated for governments from tobacco taxes could be used to finance universal health coverage, promotion and other development programmes.
Having observed also that tobacco threatens the world, exacerbates poverty, reduces economic activity, contributes to poor household food choices and pollutes indoor air, Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO, stressed that by taking robust tobacco control measures, governments can safeguard the future of their countries by protecting tobacco users and non-users from the deadly product.
Available data from WHO show that 80 percent of the casualties of tobacco use are from low and middle-income countries. Not less than 146,000 adults aged 30 years and above die in Africa yearly, from tobacco-related diseases. Also, Nigeria’s 2012 Global Adult Tobacco Survey reveals that 20 billion sticks of cigarettes are consumed in the country annually.
According to the survey, about 5.6 percent of adults in Nigeria (4.5 million) currently use tobacco products out of which four million are men and 500,000 are women. Additionally, about 29.3 percent of adults (6.4 million) are secondary smokers when visiting restaurants, hotels and other public settings. Of the adults surveyed, 82.4 percent believe that smoking causes serious illnesses.
It is commendable that all countries have committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to strengthen universal peace and eradicate poverty. As part of efforts to stem tobacco use in the country, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said that the Federal Government has vowed to enforce the National Tobacco Control Act 2015.
He explained that the government will soon begin a crackdown on smoking in public places such as parks, plazas, playgrounds, health facilities, restaurants and public vehicles. Speaking at a press conference on the 2017 World No Tobacco Day, he disclosed that in the bid to discourage smoking, smokers would be compelled to buy a pack containing 20 sticks of cigarettes or not buy at all.
Parts of the provisions of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 which the government wants to implement include: “the prohibition of sale of tobacco products to and by anyone below the age of 18; and ban on sale of cigarettes in single sticks. Cigarettes must be sold in packs of 20 sticks only; smokeless tobacco shall be sold in a minimum of a pack of 30 grammes.“Ban on sale or offer for sale or distribution of tobacco or tobacco products through mail, Internet or other online devices; prohibition of interference of tobacco industry in public health and related issues,” among others.
We commend government’s efforts to stem tobacco use in the country. For these efforts to yield the desired results, government should adequately sensitise the citizenry to the dangers of smoking. States and local governments must be carried along in the campaign against tobacco use.
Government should increase taxes on tobacco and use the proceeds to fund universal health coverage. That tobacco use is a major cause of debilitating diseases such as lung, throat and mouth cancers can hardly be contested. Therefore, all Nigerians must key into government’s plans to check smoking in the country without further delay.