Nigeria

By Akinbode Oluwafemi
Programme Manager, ERA/FoEN, Lagos, Nigeria

Commercial cultivation of tobacco began in Nigeria in 1934 and cigarette manufacture started in 1937 by the defunct Nigeria Tobacco Company (NTC). ⁽¹⁾ Today the British American Tobacco Company Nigeria (BATN) controls over 85% of the country’s cigarette market. On June 17 2003 BATN commissioned a US$150 million cigarette manufacturing plant in Ibadan, South West Nigeria. In a recent statement BAT disclosed that the plant in Ibadan is crucial to its African operation and that the plant will later serve its customers across the entire West Africa sub-region.

BAT has also upgraded another factory located in Zaria, Kaduna state with a US$1million new GDXI machine capable of producing 7,200 sticks per minute.⁽²⁾ The International Tobacco Company (ITC) is located in Ilorin in the North Central region of Nigeria. It is partly owned by Altria (Philip Morris). Several other brands, apart from those manufactured by BATN or ITC, are also on sale in Nigeria. These brands are often smuggled in through neighbouring countries.

The tobacco industry has for more than a decade targeted the Nigerian market via advertising, sponsorship and diverse promotional activities. There are no current smoking prevalence data for Nigeria. However, a survey by the Federal Ministry of Health in 1990-91 showed that 4.14 million (10%) Nigerians over the age of 15 years smoke, and that 1.26 million are heavy smokers (i.e. more than ten cigarettes per day). That figure had risen to 17.1% by 1998. In 1994 the smoking rate among youths was 4.4%. By 2001 the smoking rate for youths of between 13 and 15 years had increased to 18.1%. ⁽³⁾

A survey by the Lagos State Government shows the health and economic costs that tobacco currently inflicts on Nigeria. In 2006 alone more than 9,527 tobacco-related cases were recorded in hospitals run by the state government. Another survey of 26 state-run hospitals revealed that two people die each day from tobacco- related diseases. The state government also estimates that it spends N216,000 on each case of tobacco-related disease while the individual spends additional N70,000.

Tobacco regulation laws in Nigeria are weak and rarely enforced. They include the Tobacco Smoking (Control) Act (formerly Tobacco Smoking (Control) Decree 20 of 1990), and the Code of Advertising Practice (APCON,1993) and the Resolution of APCON 89th meeting on 11 July 2001, issued as a Directive on 8 January 2004. All the regulations prescribed some restrictions on tobacco advertising on radio, television and newspapers. The Act also makes provision for restriction of smoking in public places. ⁽⁴⁾

Nigeria signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 20 June 2004 and ratified the convention on 20 October 2005. The Federal Ministry of Health is currently working with non-governmental organisations to draft a National Tobacco Control Bill. The draft Bill incorporates all the provisions of the FCTC and will soon be presented in the Nigerian parliament for debates and passage into law.

The Bloomberg grant has created an opportunity for NGOs in Nigeria to collaborate with the Health ministry on the Bill process. The grant is also being used for legislative advocacy to ensure smooth passage of the Bill into law. As a result of the grant, high calibre tobacco control advocates have been engaged to drive forward tobacco control in Nigeria. There are capacity building activities for NGOs and journalists. The immediate result has been an improved level of awareness of and sustained media reporting of the dangers of smoking.

References
⁽¹⁾ Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria , Death and Destruction: The Tobacco Attack on Nigeria (Lagos, Nigeria 2002).
⁽²⁾ http://www.batnigeria.com/
⁽³⁾ Federal Ministry of Heath, Overview and Strategies for Tobacco Control in Nigeria, Dr Mike Anibueze, 2007
⁽⁴⁾ Statement of claim in suit LD/524/2007 ,High Court of Lagos State, between Attorney General of Lagos State, environmental Rights Action and British American Tobacco (Nigeria) Limited, International Tobacco Limited, British American Tobacco Plc, British America Tobacco (Investment) Limited, Philip Morris International and The Tobacco Institute.