The federal government has announced that it will increase the excise tax on tobacco products from 30% to 50% as part of measures to control tobacco smoking in the country. Dr. Mangai Malau, head of the Tobacco Control Unit, Department of Non-Communicable Diseases, Federal Ministry of Health made the announcement at the National Tobacco Control Budget Advocate Conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
Malau presented a paper titled “Overview of Tobacco Control Funding/Budgeting in Nigeria: Why Tobacco Control Budgeting and Funding?
The federal government currently imposes a 30% tax on tobacco products, but the goal is to raise it to 50% to meet World Health Organization standards.
must be largely due to taxation, and appropriate tax measures also need to be taken by relevant stakeholders to address domestic tobacco control issues.
“In effectively controlling tobacco and tobacco products in Nigeria, funding is a critical component. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recognises this and clearly stipulates in Article 26.
“It states that parties shall provide financial support in respect of its national activities intended to achieve the objective of the Convention, in accordance with its national plans, priorities and programmes.
“It is also important to state that funding is a major provision of the National Tobacco Control Act.
“Section eight of the Act, provides for the Tobacco Control Fund, which shall be used to fund tobacco control activities programmes and projects,” Malau said.
According to him, this meeting is therefore important as it will seek better funding for tobacco control. This will further aid Nigeria meet the objectives of the WHO FCTC and the NTC Act.
He said –
“Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke is a leading cause of mortality, morbidity, disability and impoverishment in the world.
“It is the greatest risk factor for non-communicable diseases like hypertension, stroke, cancers, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
According to him, WHO said –
“tobacco causes more than eight million deaths annually around the world, with more than seven million of those deaths as a result of direct tobacco use.
“And about 1.2 million resulting from non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
He said that tobacco smoke contained over 7,000 chemicals. Hundreds of these are toxic and about 70 are known to cause cancer.
“Also, there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke and even a brief exposure can be harmful to one’s health.
“Concerned about the threat from tobacco, Nigeria signed and ratified the WHO FCTC, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. In 2015, the National Tobacco Control Act was enacted and its Regulations was passed in 2019,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Mr Akinbode Oluwafemi, stressed the need for Civil Society Organisations to advocate for more budgetary allocation for tobacco control in the country.
Oluwafemi urged CSOs to begin the budgetary advocacy in July. This is when the government’s ministries, departments and agencies would commence the 2024 budgets presentation and defence.
According to him, it is also important that CSOs form alliances while carrying out the advocacy.
cc: Punch Ng
