From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria has been urged to raise taxation on tobacco products to reduce consumption and save billions in annual healthcare costs.
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), in a statement on Thursday, warned that the tobacco industry is aggressively targeting Nigerians with products like vapes and e-cigarettes, despite tobacco use being a major risk factor for debilitating diseases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) links tobacco use to premature death from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), birth defects, vision loss, gastrointestinal diseases, skin damage, weak bones, and cardiovascular disease, among other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Citing data from the Nigerian Tobacco Control Data Initiative, CAPPA noted that 90 percent of tobacco production occurs in developing countries like Nigeria, which bear the environmental costs, while rich countries profit. According to the federal government, Nigerians consumed over 20 billion cigarette sticks annually as of 2018, with nearly 30,000 deaths each year from tobacco-related diseases.
Relying on an analysis by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), CAPPA stated that Nigeria spent ₦526.4 billion treating tobacco-related diseases in 2019. Nigeria’s current mixed excise tax system includes a 30 percent ad valorem tax on production costs, a specific excise tax of ₦84 per pack (20 cigarettes) effective from June 1, 2022, and a shisha/tobacco tax of ₦3,000 per litre or ₦1,000 per kg, rising ₦500 annually. Although a 50 percent tax increase was proposed in April 2023, it has not been implemented.
CAPPA urged Nigeria to align with global best practices and emulate African countries like Senegal, Kenya, and South Africa, which are implementing stringent tobacco control measures. Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko recently increased tobacco taxes to 100 percent from 70 percent. Kenya banned the importation of tobacco and nicotine-containing products like vapes, citing rising youth addiction. South Africa proposed measures on June 3 to tighten tobacco control and outlaw public vaping and smoking due to evidence of harmful effects.
“In Nigeria, the tobacco industry is having a field day aggressively targeting young Nigerians with their novel products such as vapes and other e-cigarettes, which they know are not only addictive, but also harmful. Using their so-called ‘tobacco harm reduction strategy’, the tobacco industry continues to hoodwink the public that vapes, and other e-cigarettes, are harmful to human health, but good for consumption,” said Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director at CAPPA.
He warned that tobacco-related diseases strain Nigeria’s health systems, drain budgets, reduce productivity, and exacerbate poverty. “What the tobacco industry is doing is grooming the next set of addicts to replace the thousands of Nigerians who die from tobacco-related diseases and the many others whose lives are destroyed. They must be stopped. We urge the government to act fast and raise the taxes on tobacco and related products to 100 percent. This is a proven way to not only discourage tobacco and e-cigarette use, but also save billions in healthcare costs.”
CAPPA further urged the government to ring-fence part of the revenue for health promotion, NCD prevention, and full implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act, while resisting tobacco industry interference that undermines life-saving policies.
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