By Daniel Kanu
Assistant Politics Editor
The 2018 World No Tobacco Day Commemoration was colorful in Abuja as civil society and student groups marched through the major streets of the federal capital demanding that government enforce the ban on smoking in public places, among a host of provisions of the National Tobacco Control Act which was signed into law in 2015.
Groups that participated in the march convened by the Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) include Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Cedars Foundation, Gatefield, Smoke-free Club UniAbuja and other youth groups.
Before the kick off of the march, Dr. Malau Toma of the ministry of health explained that the thrust of the exercise was to sensitize the public on the dangers of tobacco and solicit their support for the NTC Act.
He also explained that the theme of the 2018 WNTD which was Tobacco and Heart Disease, made it imperative to also make the public realise the dangers in second hand smoke which the World Health Organisation (WHO) blamed for 600,000 deaths annually.
At the Garki Ultra-modern market where the activists addressed the public in the three major languages, Akinbode Oluwafemi of the ERA/FoEN listed some of the ailments that smokers and non -smokers could become susceptible to, particularly, lung cancer.
Chibuike Nwanirrinaya of the NTCA who spoke in Igbo explained that tobacco was the gateway to other substances abused by the youths such as cannabis, heroine, marijuana and in Nigeria, tramadol, among others.
At a press briefing subsequently, Hilda Ochefu of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) and Oluseun Esan of NTCA emphasized the role of government in ensuring that non-smokers are not exposed to tobacco harms.
Oluwafemi also emphasized that to properly implement the NTC Act, the Nigerian government must establish the Tobacco Control Fund as contained in Part III of the NTC Act and commence enforcement of the nine provisions of the Act announced by Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole in 2017. The provisions announced by the minister include ban on smoking in public places, restriction on underage access and ban of sale in single sticks, among others.
Phillip Jakpor, Head Media and Publicity, ERA/FoEN, told The Niche that no country can achieve sustainable development when it does not take serious its own laws, urging the federal government to take serious the implementation of Tobacco laws, ensuring that culprits are made to face the law.
