Bauchi Moves To Enact State Tobacco Control Law

Bauchi State government has initiated efforts to enact a state tobacco control law in collaboration with the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

The proposed law will regulate the use of tobacco products and safeguard public health.

The initiative was unveiled at a stakeholders’ technical meeting on the development of the Bauchi State Tobacco Control Framework, where the participants drawn from relevant ministries, departments and agencies deliberated on the need for a comprehensive state law to regulate tobacco products.

At the meeting yesterday, the executive director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, urged the state government to expedite action on the domestication of the National Tobacco Control Act to discourage unrestricted access to tobacco products.

He noted that a robust legal framework would strengthen regulation of the production, sale and consumption of tobacco while safeguarding public health.

Presenting a paper on tobacco control, CISLAC Technical Officer, Solomon Adogum, said tobacco use remains a major public health concern in Nigeria despite growing awareness of its harmful effects.

According to him, figures from the World Health Organisation indicate that more than 25,000 children aged between 10 and 14 years, as well as about 7.49 million adults aged 15 years and above, use tobacco daily in Nigeria.

He added that over 7.08 million men and about 402,600 women smoke cigarettes every day, while nearly 1.97 million Nigerians use smokeless tobacco. He further disclosed that tobacco-related illnesses claim about 28,876 lives annually in the country.

Adogum described tobacco as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths worldwide, stressing that it is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases.

He explained that more than 85 per cent of lung cancer cases are linked to tobacco use, adding that smoking also contributes significantly to chronic respiratory diseases, heart attacks, stroke, and cancers affecting the mouth, throat, oesophagus, pancreas and bladder.

He further warned that secondhand smoke poses serious health risks, saying exposure accounts for about 1.2 million premature deaths globally each year. He noted that passive smoking also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections and asthma among children.

The Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Danlami Ahmed Kawule, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Yamai Muhammad, reaffirmed the Bala Mohammed administration’s commitment to supporting the domestication of the tobacco control legislation.

He said the state government remains committed to protecting both the environment and the health of its citizens and would provide the necessary support to ensure the successful implementation of the proposed law.

Participants at the meeting, including representatives of various ministries, departments and agencies, were also taken through the public health, environmental and economic implications of tobacco use, with experts advocating stricter regulations on the sale, marketing and consumption of tobacco products in Bauchi State.