The recent public hearing held by the Senate to gauge the views of stakeholders in the tobacco industry towards passing a legislation regulating the production and consumption of tobacco products in Nigeria brought together stakeholders across the tobacco debate divide. It was a mix of various groups representing interests on both sides of the tobacco debate.
The debates were robust as all the stakeholders – the anti-tobacco coalition on one hand and the tobacco industry, including British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, on the other – were given the opportunity to state their views on the bill under consideration.
The submission by Tajudeen Abdul-Ganiyu, Oyo State director of public prosecution, summed up the impact that closing the legitimate tobacco industry would have on the economy. “We are looking at a situation whereby the bill would put the industry out of business and throw the workers working there out of employment, because we are going to suffer the immediate result of people being thrown out of (the) market as it is going to increase the crime rate in our state. We are also concerned about the area of partnership between the state government and BATN. The company has been helping the Oyo people by empowering them, setting up small entrepreneurs throughout the state. We have the tobacco farmers who are also being empowered too by the tobacco firm,” he said.
To be clear, two tobacco control bills are currently being considered by the Senate Committee on Health. Similarly, the House of Representatives Committees on Health and Justice held a public hearing on the tobacco control bill in July.
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There is no doubt that tobacco smoking is a public health issue. The truth is that non-smokers deserve to be protected from the harmful effect of tobacco use. Smokers have the right to make lifestyle choices, but in exercising such rights, they should not harm others. And I agree that the tobacco industry needs to be regulated. For instance, it is absolutely needful to clearly delineate areas where people are allowed to smoke and areas where smoking is prohibited.
There is, however, something worrisome about the whole scenario. The urgency with which the tobacco control issue is being handled seems to suggest that it is a front-burner issue than, say, widespread poverty, which affects about 70 percent of Nigeria’s population – about 110 million people. Or lack of electricity, with a recent report stating that Nigerians spend about N800 billion annually in providing their own electricity, which is sourced outside the DISCOs. Or poor access to education, with more than 20 million children of school-going age roaming the streets. Or lack of access to medical facilities, with many more people resorting to jujumen and herbalists, and self-help, than seek proper medical care because they cannot afford the services of modern medical care. But these critical socio-economic issues are not attracting the same level of attention, even though less than 6 percent of Nigeria’s adult population consumes tobacco products, as affirmed by the National Bureau of Statistics, far less than mature markets like Australia (22.3 percent), Greece (63 percent), United States (32 percent) and Canada (23.8 percent), as indicated in the Tobacco Atlas report.
Perhaps tobacco represents a more attractive target and one which, if the spectre of death from smoking is well articulated and exaggerated, could attract more funding to the motley crowd of anti-tobacco campaigners. As one analyst at the Senate public hearing puts it, “Tobacco is a great cause of concern in developed countries and is therefore attracting huge funding. Part of that money is finding its way to Africa and NGOs are being set up to draw from the fund. Activities of these NGOs have no impact whatsoever on the incidence of smoking.”
That said, it was evident from the deliberations and submissions at the public hearing that a legislation that will safeguard and enhance the wellbeing of Nigerians, which includes health and economic growth and development, must accommodate the interests of all stakeholders and not only those of a few groups. Majority of the stakeholders, barring one or two, called for a balanced regulation that will protect non-smokers and smokers alike and protect the economic interest of the country.
It also emerged manifestly that if tobacco regulation becomes excessively restrictive and legitimate producers close shop, smokers would continue to smoke. Demand would then be met via imported cigarettes, thereby transferring shipping jobs and revenue to other countries. Beyond this, there will no longer be industry operators such as producers to engage in terms of product quality, seeking alternative products to regular cigarettes, assisting in the fight against smuggling and counterfeiting, among other ills that thrive when there are no legitimate producers.
In seeking to regulate the production and consumption of tobacco products, it should be noted that no country has succeeded in legislating cigarette consumption out of existence. Countries that have imposed unduly burdensome regulations on tobacco producers have experienced increased trade in smuggled cigarettes, with dire consequences for the health of people, government revenue and breach of security from the activities of well-organised criminal groups thriving on cigarette smuggling. The onus is on the National Assembly to craft a legislation that will do more good than existing legislations.
An ideal legislation will have as its cardinal principles the protection of non-smokers from the effect of cigarette smoking, protecting smokers from the hazardous consequences of illicit and counterfeit tobacco products, safeguarding the economic wellbeing of Nigeria as well as fostering innovation with the long-term objective of finding safer alternatives to regular cigarettes.
Akeem Ogunlade
