A new report by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, has revealed an upward swing in the severity of interference by the Tobacco Industry in Nigeria’s public health policies and the resultant health burden on the country.
Executive Director CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi during the unveiling of the report in Lagos said this global trend by the industry has been undermining government’s effort to safeguard the health and well being of the citizens.
The unveiling of the 2023 Tobacco Industry Interference Index, is the third in the series by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa CAPPA.
The report reveals a remarkable deterioration in Nigeria’s rating from 53 in 2021 to 60 points in 2023 through tactics deployed in the guise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
Such tactics as captured in the document include; preying on government regulation gaps, participating in critical government inter-agency and multi sectoral meetings where classified public health resolutions are taken, among others.
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The report states that government has continued refusing to fully disclose its level of interaction with the tobacco industry as stipulated by the National tobacco control Act 2015.
The result is an increase in the country’s health burden such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, impaired oral health, and others.
The 2023 report came up with key recommendations including that governments should put in place conflict of interest fund for their officials, stop behind the scenes engagement with the tobacco industry, and work towards removing ambiguities in the laws that are exploited by the tobacco industry, thus hampering tobacco control efforts in Nigeria.
Advocates are hopeful that the report will guide government in carrying out its responsibility of protecting the health of Nigerian citizens from poisonous tobacco products.
Editor: Ken Eseni
