Nigeria: House Seeks Review of Tobacco Control Bill

Source from:  THISDAY Live 05/03/2013

The Nigerian Tobacco Control Bill, sponsored by Senator Yacoob Bush-Alebiosu, has undergone its 1st and 2nd readings at the House of Representatives. The Bill has also been referred to the Committees on Health and Justice for further review.

A Tobacco Control Bill, which was passed by the National Assembly in 2011, was not assented by the President. However, some of the concerns raised on the last Bill were the impact of loss of jobs by the Tobacco farmers; unclear provisions which were stated will render the bill unenforceable and hence ineffective to the objectives of the health sector.
 It is expected that a public hearing will be held on this current Bill where all the relevant stakeholders will submit their various positions.

Speaker of the House, Hon. AminuTambuwal, had referred the current Bill to the Committees on Health and Justice for further legislative inputs after it passed its 2nd reading.

"We want to ensure that its provision does not offend existing law, so it has been sent to the House Committees on Health and Justice and they will report back to the House soon," he said.
 Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Munir Babba Dan'Agundi, said, "I want to implore that while considering the Bill in the cause of the Public Hearing, we should know that our teeming farmers from the South-West and some part of the North-Western part of the country grow tobacco".

The bill seeks to provide for strict control measures on tobacco on a wide range of areas including importation, sponsorship, advertising, distribution, sales and designation of areas where tobacco products may and may not be smoked, in addition to other matters connected therewith.

During the lead debate, the lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency, Lagos State, Bush-Alebiosu highlighted that the bill provides a legal framework for the control of tobacco products in Nigeria.

According to him, "the Bill would prohibit smoking in public places if passed and would also ensure that the under-aged would not be able to buy tobacco at will."

Reacting on the issue, a concerned Nigerian, Akin Olugbade, who resides in Lagos State, commended the House for seeking more input into the draft Bill because the welfare of the entire citizenry should be protected. According to him, "I will only request that the House hold public hearings so that citizens can make inputs. For example, 'what is the definition of a public place? What will happen to the farmers? Will a person smoking in front of a house or on the street be charged for smoking in public?' I ask these questions because smoking outside is less dangerous to non-smokers around than smoking in an enclosed place."

The new Bill, when passed, will replace the National Tobacco Control Act 1990. Enditem