By Toyin Victor, Abuja
Civil society groups under the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) have called for the immediate withdrawal of the Consolidated National Tobacco Control Act Amendment Bill 2025.
The groups made the call at a community press conference, warning that several provisions in the proposed amendments could weaken existing tobacco-control safeguards and expose more Nigerians, particularly young people, to tobacco and nicotine products.
Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode OluwaFemi, said the bill contains provisions that could create loopholes for tobacco and nicotine companies to advertise, promote, sell and sample emerging products at the expense of public health.
He particularly raised concerns over provisions that could permit online sales, remote delivery, product sampling at retail outlets, and advertising through certain publications and social, cultural and recreational events.
The groups also rejected the proposed inclusion of “harm reduction” among the objectives of the tobacco-control law, arguing that products such as vapes and nicotine pouches should not be treated as harmless alternatives or subjected to weaker regulatory safeguards.
Country Coordinator of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Michael Olaniyan, said the proposed amendments could roll back gains recorded under the 2015 National Tobacco Control Act, particularly through changes to health warnings, advertising restrictions and penalties for violations.
Olaniyan also questioned how the current 31-page consolidated bill emerged from two amendment bills presented at a 2024 public hearing, calling for the publication of committee reports, voting records and stakeholders’ submissions that informed the development of the new document.
Coordinator of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Michael Makanjuola, urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to take a stronger position on the issue, warning that Nigeria’s progress in tobacco control could be undermined if the proposed amendments are allowed to pass.
Assistant Executive Director of CAPPA, Zikora Ibeh, said commercial interests must not take precedence over public health, particularly in a country with a predominantly young population.
The groups are therefore calling on the National Assembly to withdraw the bill and subject it to a transparent public health review. They also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent if the bill reaches his desk, insisting that Nigeria needs a stronger, product-neutral tobacco-control framework to protect children and prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to tobacco and nicotine products.