In a bid to ensure a tobacco-free environment, the Federal Government is proposing a bill, seeking to ban smoking in public places as well as advertisement of cigarettes by companies.
The draft bill- the National Tobacco Control Act 2014, was approved at the weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday.
Should it be passed into law by the National Assembly, offenders risk up to six-month jail term and or N50, 000 fines.
Briefing State House correspondents, the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, said that all modes of transportation- land, railway, sea and air would also be designated non-smoking areas.
According to him, “The bill is to protect Nigerians against the harmful effects of tobacco. We know that tobacco is dangerous, tobacco is the cause of many deaths, causes so many illnesses.
“There are four main non communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory disorder and diabetics.
“Tobacco alone causes three out of these four illnesses- Tobacco causes cardiovascular diseases, it is been known to cause heart attacks, hypertension and stroke, tobacco indeed causes cancer, cancer of various organs especially cancer of the lungs, tobacco is the cause for chronic respiratory disease
“We have done surveys in Nigeria , in 2008, Nigeria conducted the global youth tobacco survey and the youth that were surveyed were between the ages of 13 to 15 and in that survey, it clearly showed that 15 per cent of our children between the ages of 13 and 15 years were already smokers and 55 per cent of our children between the ages of 13 and 15 were exposed as passive smokers.
“Even among adults, ten percent of men smoke in Nigeria, one out of every ten Nigerian male adult smoke, among the women, it is 1.1 per cent, if you combine it in term of men and women, almost six per cent of all adults in Nigeria smoke or use tobacco products apart from 20 per cent of those who did not smoke but exposed as passive smokers.”
Prof Chukwu also said, the bill will also impose a fine of between 1 million to 5 million naira on companies who advertise tobacco products in the country.
The owners of such companies, he said also risk a jail term of between 1 to 2 years.
He spoke further, “The major ingredients of the bill is that there are stiff penalties for individuals, for instance, individuals who fall foul of what will eventually become the National Tobacco Control Act 2014, may pay fine of between N50,000, that is for someone who goes to a place clearly designated non smoking area, the judge could either give you an option of fine or combine it with imprisonment of up to six months.
“Whereas, for companies, it varies from N1 million to as much as N5 million, imprisonment of those companies could vary from one to two years where they fall foul of the law.
“Now the areas that are being targeted include the environment, we want to produce hundred per cent tobacco free environment for people who do not want anything to do with tobacco use and so places will be clearly designated whether public places, whether indoor or outdoor will be clearly designated as non smoking area.
“The responsibility, say for instance, a hotel rest on the owners of the hotel to clearly indicate the areas that are non smoking so that if you ever decide to go to a place that has been clearly designated non smoking area, you will be liable to being prosecuted and then the law will take its course.”
The minister also disclosed that a fund to be known as the Tobacco Control Fund will also be established by the bill which will be funded by Federal, State governments and individuals.
“The bill also proposes to ban every form of sponsorship by any tobacco company of any public event, when government is doing anything, they cannot sponsor, whether in sports or seminars.
“We will not accept gifts from them, if a tobacco company wants to build school, we will reject but we will accept when they have stop producing and selling,” the Minister said.
