The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said the Federal Government would hike taxes levied on tobacco products as part of the measures to tackle ailments related to them.
He spoke yesterday in Abuja while receiving a coalition of anti-tobacco Civil Societies (CSOs) under the aegis of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The Minister who reeled out government’s strategies aimed at controlling tobacco consumption and intake especially among children also declared that he had personal and official reasons to fight tobacco consumption.
“When taxes make the prices of tobacco high, those who still want to smoke will have to work hard to be able to pay for it. We must be prepared for this battle because it is a battle for the long haul,” Adewole said. “Africa is the target of the tobacco companies because they claim they are creating jobs but the harms of tobacco outweigh the jobs they claim to create. It is a battle we must fight together and win.”
He also promised that government would fast track the regulations for the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA 2015).
Earlier, the director of African programme, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Bintu Camara, said Nigeria is at the ‘crux of momentum of tobacco burden’.
She said they were in the minister’s office to urge him to continue to prioritizing the fight against tobacco consumption because the product was creating huge problems for the country.
Also speaking, the Coordinator Nigeria Tobacco Research, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Dr. Akindele Adeniyi, who said survey had proven that 3.9m Nigerians are addicted to tobacco smoking, added, “Nigeria had a huge burden of tobacco smoking because the number of smokers were more than that of many countries.
Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), said there was an urgent need for the government forward the regulations to the National Assembly for approval.
Source: Daily Trust
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