Nigeria: Anti-tobacco Activists Advocate Smoke-free Day

Source from:  The Guardian  05/31/2013

Petition NMMA on BATN sponsorship of media award

• BAT urges caution on planned ban of tobacco

AS nations commemorates the 2013 World No Tobacco Day today, anti-tobacco activists in Nigeria have called on governors to declare a smoke-free day to raise awareness on the dangers of smoking and use of tobacco products.

The activists, under the aegis of Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Network for Accountability of Tobacco Trans-nationals (NATT), said the measure would be a good starting point for appropriate legislation to arrest tobacco-related injuries, which kill one in every 10 adults around the world.

Besides, ERA/FoEN and six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) yesterday petitioned the chairman and board of trustees of the Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA) on sponsorship of the annual Best Industrial Reporter of the Year Award by the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), an act they described as "subtle tactics of silencing newspaper editorials and articles."

According to the petition, "the NMMA is an annual endowment to reward excellence in journalism and so, we believe that an industry that manufactures and markets a product that kills cannot at the same time sponsor an award that seemingly promotes excellence."

However, the British American Tobacco Company (BAT) has issued a series of images to illustrate what it believes the world would look like if the legal tobacco industry was forced out of existence.

In a statement sent to The Guardian yesterday, the British-American Tobacco's Group Head, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Kingsley Wheaton, warned: "The reality is that people will continue to smoke. But instead of buying legally taxed cigarettes made by legitimate tobacco companies and sold by reputable retailers, they'll turn to black market sources to get what they want."

According to Wheaton, "the tobacco industry is highly regulated, sells a legal product and we have a legitimate business. We conduct our business in a professional and responsible way, abiding by the laws in all the countries we operate in, often going above and beyond our legal obligations.

"Unfortunately, the same can't be said of the sophisticated network of criminals ready and waiting to step in and take over if the legitimate tobacco industry doesn't exist."

According to the petition, "the NMMA is an annual endowment to reward excellence in journalism and so, we believe that an industry that manufactures and markets a product that kills cannot at the same time sponsor an award that seemingly promotes excellence."

Speaking at a meeting of stakeholders in Lagos yesterday, NTCA Executive Director, Mr. Nurudeen Ogbara, said the declaration of a smoke-free day in 36 states was necessary to demonstrate that state governments care for public health and are in alliance with global campaign against tobacco epidemic.

He said the activists had also written the Aviation Minister to declare all the 16 airports in Nigeria smoke-free.

Also, Spokesperson of NATT Nigeria, Philip Jakpor, said that "this year's WNTD entitled, "Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorships", aims to draw the attention of national governments to industry activities that undermine the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) through Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorships (TAPS).

In the light of this, the NGOs urge the chairman and board of NMMA to kick BATN out of the yearly awards because, "by accepting the BAT Prize as part of this annual event, the NMMA is unwittingly accepting censorship".

However, Wheaton stated that with significant investment in research and development of reduced-risk tobacco products, there would be no incentive for criminals to start doing this.

He listed BAT's other commitment as responsible product marketing, which excludes children from the company's audience, and that the company's marketing is aimed at informed adult smokers, who are aware of the health risks associated with tobacco use. Enditem