Nigeria Urged to Review Tobacco Business

Source from:  africanews.com 3 January 2008 01/04/2008

Ayo Ajayi, AfricaNews reporter in Lagos, Nigeria The Federal Government has been asked to cancel all benefits granted multinational Tobacco companies in the country by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The call was made at an interactive session organized by the Coalition Against Tobacco, CAT, in Lagos. Participants at the event said the call as become necessary due to the danger which tobacco consumption poses to public health. Activity of these groups in creating awareness on the harmful effect of tobacco consumption in the country is beginning to yield fruits. They have often embarked on legislative advocacy programs to ensure effective tobacco regulation all over the country. Speakers at the event said litigation cases against multinational tobacco companies are paramount to compelling them to pay damages. Olatoyosi Onaolapo, Coordinator, CAT said, "What we are doing basically is to create awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco to everybody. We are trying to guard against the advertisement and the publicity of tobacco products". Tunde Irukera, legal practitioner noted that, "When a product is created, and it is utilized in exact way it is to be used; any injury arising out of the use of that product becomes the liability of the producer. That's what the law says." Another legal practitioner, Dapo Akinosun stated that the coalition is making progress in it campaign against tobacco consumption. "We are making progress, no matter how slow; the Federal Government has joined in the action against tobacco companies. That would assure the whole world that even though they made mistake in bringing them, in the first place they (government) are ready to stand to correct the mistake. This boldness from the government shows that we are making progress and we are miles away from where we started few years ago." The war against tobacco consumption as been on the increase in the country, this is against the backdrop of the number of people who are affected by smoking. The 2006 World Health Organization statistics put the number of people who died from tobacco related diseases at 5.4 million yearly. In this, one person dies every 6.5 seconds. The statistics also revealed that over 15 billion cigarettes are smoked everyday. Enditem