Nigeria: Confusion over ''Repackaged'' Tobacco Control Bill

Source from:  The Guardian Nigeria 03/06/2013

THERE is confusion in the Nigerian tobacco control community over the "repackaged" Tobacco Control Bill currently before the Senate, The Guardian investigation at the weekend has revealed.

A Tobacco Control Bill, sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Ifeanyi Okowa, and some other top senators, is currently before the Senate, titled: "A bill for an Act to repeal the Tobacco (Control) Act 1990 Cap. T 16 Laws of the Federation and to enact the National Tobacco Control Bill 2012 to provide for the regulation or control of production, manufacture, sale, advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco or tobacco products in Nigeria and for other related matters".

The bill has passed the first reading and is slated for second reading this month. The Tobacco Control Bill is to assist in the eradication of tobacco-related epidemics and reduce addiction in the country.

However, another bill of similar intendment has been initiated at the executive level through the Federal Ministry of Health. According to a source, the Ministry of Health was already at a high level in redrafting the Tobacco Bill.

Confirming this development, a focal person for tobacco control at the ministry said the ministry was indeed repackaging the Tobacco Bill, stating: "It is true that we are repackaging the National Tobacco Control Bill (NTCB) and what we are doing is planned for the Executive.

"Currently, we have finished with it at the ministry and the bill has been sent to Justice Ministry. We are now finalising work on it to go to the minister, who will then present it at the Federal Executive Council (FEC)."

In another twist, it was gathered that there was another Tobacco Control Draft Bill in the House of Representatives, which has also passed the first reading. Curiously, all the sponsors of the bill seem to be working independent of one other and with support from different stakeholders. It was also learnt that there is a sharp division among civil society groups over which version of the bill to support.

The sixth National Assembly had passed an NTCB, sponsored by Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, but it was not signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan. It was alleged last year that the Ministries of Health and Trade and Investment could not agree on the effects of implementing the provisions, both to health and investment, which therefore, stalled its presentation to Mr. President for assent. The bill eventually lapsed.

According to a source at the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), which is the umbrella body of all tobacco control groups in Nigeria, members are yet to make their decision on which bill to support. The source said that most members of the alliance were cautious about throwing their weight behind any bill until they knew the motive for the proliferation of Tobacco Control Bills in the National Assembly.

NTCA Chairman, Nurudeen Ogbara, said that tobacco control groups were not in a hurry to support any of the bills, noting: "At the level of the NTCA, we are still studying the situation. When all the bills are made public, we will study and judge them on their merit to see which one best reflects the spirit and letter of the Frame-work Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the Nigerian scenario."

Director of Corporate Accountability, Environmental Right Action/Friend of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Mr. Olufemi Akinbode, told The Guardian on Monday that the tobacco control advocate group was aware of on-going processes and proliferation of the bill, but there should be no confusion about whether to support it or not.

Akinbode noted that there were basic guidelines that must be followed in the processes and that ERA/FoEN was poised to support the bill that "prohibits sale of cigarettes to persons under the age of 18, ban on promotion of tobacco or tobacco products in any form, and smoking in all public places."

Others include "display of the word, 'warning' in capital letters on every package containing tobacco product, (prohibition of) sale of cigarette to youths, especially in sticks, and promotion of Article 5.3, which protects the public from influence of the tobacco industry.

"We have been on this since 2007. We welcome every process that will ensure that Nigeria has a comprehensive tobacco control in place."

Another dimension to this development is the involvement of the Washington DC, United States-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), which is said to be involved in the promotion of the Executive bill. It was gathered that CTFK was already working on the ground in Nigeria with the Ministry of Health for the promotion of the Executive Bill.

The CTFK is a tobacco control group involved in passing regulations in many countries globally. It normally operates by funding local groups in its countries of operation, using funds from Michael Bloomberg and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It was learnt that the open support for the Executive Bill and CTFK's direct operation in Nigeria was already causing unrest among stakeholders, as support from a major funder could change the game over the passage of the NTCB. Enditem