‘Nigeria Losing Ground To Tobacco Industry As Budget Stagnates’

A group, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has pleaded with the federal government to substantially increase Nigeria’s tobacco control budget.

It warned that the country was underprepared for the rising public health risks posed by tobacco and emerging nicotine products.

In a statement released over the weekend, the organisation urged the government to scale up annual funding for tobacco control to at least N300 million and ensure consistent increases in subsequent years.

CAPPA said the current allocations fall far short of what is required to implement the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015 and protect Nigerians from tobacco-related harms.

The renewed call followed the launch of CAPPA’s new report, “New Smoke Trap: New and Emerging Nicotine and Tobacco Products, Youth Exposure and Policy Gaps in Nigeria,” which reveals how international tobacco companies are exploiting regulatory loopholes to push electronic cigarettes, vapes and smokeless nicotine devices into the Nigerian market—products the group says are aggressively targeted at young people.

Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said Nigeria is facing a “fast-changing and dangerous” nicotine landscape.

“We are dealing with a nicotine market clearly targeting young people.

Without adequate funding for regulation, enforcement and public education, the country risks a new wave of addiction,” he warned.

The organisation noted that tobacco use remains one of Nigeria’s biggest preventable killers, responsible for nearly 30,000 deaths annually. Citing data from the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), CAPPA said Nigerians spent more than N526 billion treating tobacco-related diseases in 2019 alone.

Despite these enormous health and economic costs, CAPPA lamented that tobacco control efforts remain grossly underfunded, hindering public awareness campaigns, monitoring of industry practices, enforcement of smoke-free laws and research into emerging nicotine trends.

The group also faulted the failure to fully operationalise the Tobacco Control Fund (TCF)—a financing mechanism established under the NTCA to support nationwide tobacco control interventions.

“Without adequate budgetary allocation and full operationalisation, the Tobacco Control Fund cannot deliver on its mandate,” Oluwafemi said.

According to CAPPA, increased investment would enable bodies such as the National Tobacco Control Committee (NATOCC) and the Tobacco Control Unit of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to fulfil their statutory roles, including nationwide sensitisation, enforcement of advertising bans, and prosecution of violations.

The organisation further called for consistent funding to support alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers, arguing that transitioning to safer crops requires sustained training, technical assistance and financial backing.

Drawing on findings from its new report, CAPPA warned that tobacco companies are intensifying digital marketing efforts by using influencers, lifestyle imagery and misleading “reduced harm” narratives to attract young Nigerians.

“This is a deliberate strategy to recruit new users and replace those lost to tobacco-related diseases,” Oluwafemi said.

Beyond raising the budget, CAPPA also pushed for stronger fiscal and regulatory measures, including increasing tobacco taxes to at least 100 per cent and dedicating part of the revenue to public health interventions.

The group urged policymakers to treat tobacco control as a national priority, saying continued delay will overburden Nigeria’s health system, deepen poverty and expose millions especially youths to lifelong addiction.

“Investing in tobacco control will save lives, reduce healthcare costs and protect the next generation,” Oluwafemi added.