|
|
Nigeria: NGOs Unite Against Tobacco Smoking
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Vanguard (Lagos)
29 April 2008
Posted to the web 29 April 2008
Chioma Obinna
Lagos
A coalition of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) working on environmental issues last week called for the review of Nigerian laws on the sale of cigarettes to minors with a view to protecting them and the larger Nigerian population from the deadly impact of tobacco smoking.
Also, the groups are campaigning that Nigerian lawmakers must ensure that existing laws on banning tobacco smoking in public places be extended to include restaurants, bars, hospitals, parks and other designated areas where children visit so that both minors and non-smokers are protected from passive smoke (secondhand smoke).
The groups which include Coalition Against Tobacco (CAT), Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FOEN) are pushing for the review of tobacco-smoking laws to ban the sales in sticks as a strategy to discourage minors from purchasing the product.
These views were presented at a world press conference in Lagos, at the on-going litigation which the federal and some state governments brought against tobacco companies and the campaign for a review of the nation's tobacco-control laws.
The 2006 World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics estimated that 5.4 million persons die from tobacco-related diseases each year. One person in every 6.5 seconds dies, according to the data. It has also been shown that 110 thousand of these deaths each year are recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, "with not less than two each day from government-run facilities in Lagos alone."
Following these revealing statistics, the coalition maintained that "if the current trends continue, 650 million people alive today will eventually die of tobacco-related diseases. Addressing the journalists, the Programme Manager of ERA/FOEN, Akinbode Oluwafemi said the current campaign and demands are necessary to protect millions of Nigerians from tobacco products, which have been scientifically proven to be deadly.
"What we are asking for is a ban on tobacco advertisements and that cigarettes can no longer be sold in sticks," Oluwafemi added.
In his submission, Dr. Olanrewaju Onigbogi of the Department of Community Medicine at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan lamented that tobacco smoking has no health benefits at all, stressing that everything about tobacco smoking is detrimental to health.
His words: "When you see a smoker - the eyes, ears, the cough, the discomfort - show that the body does not want tobacco smoke. And then on the long-term, you will be talking of hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, etc. So, there is no benefit in tobacco smoking."
Wondering why some people would continue to produce such an addictive product capable of putting others in bondage, he said: "This is the reason for this campaign."
Also speaking, Barrister Tunde Irukera, who is counsel to the government on the litigation, said the lawsuits would hold the tobacco companies responsible for their conduct.
He further explained that the primary thing which the government wants to achieve with the litigation is to restrict the distribution of tobacco to young and under-aged people.
According to Irukera, the government has discovered that there are a grand plan and years of strategic planning for the tobacco companies to continue to target young people and continue to get them addicted to these products.
Similarly, governments have realised that there is a conspiracy by the companies, which have continued to conceal the dangers of nicotine and other substances in tobacco. Consequently, the counsel said the governments are now moving forward to say they have to restrict the companies, restrict distribution of tobacco to ensure that those who smoke clearly understand all the information in the choice they are making.
|
In addition, Irukera, who is with SimmonsCooper Law Firm said with the suits, the governments want to ensure that young persons do not smoke.
"We want to protect our communities. Besides, the compensation that may accrue from tobacco firms would help cover smoking-related medical costs and provide some compensation to government-financed healthcare systems or injured persons.
"Furthermore, the lawsuits will strengthen regulatory and legislative actions against various industry abuses, attract publicity that could change social attitudes about smoking, change tobacco companies' behaviours, encourage victims of cigarette smoking to seek compensation, among others."
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
