FG seeks global elimination of illicit trade on tobacco products

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, on Monday said the best way to tackle the danger posed by illicit trade on tobacco products to public health, economy and the environment across the ECOWAS sub-region is for the member countries to embrace international ratification of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

The minister stated this at the regional experts meeting to validate the draft directive on the harmonization of laws establishing a system for tracing, tracking and tax verification of manufactured or imported tobacco products in ECOWAS member states and review of the tax convention on income, capital and inheritance held in Abuja.

Adewole said Nigeria has been proactive and positioned itself to be more responsive to tobacco control programme in the country, saying it identified specific actions that needed to be taken to ensure more effective interventions to safeguard the health of Nigerians.

He said, ” An international tracking and tracing regime would help prevent, detect and eliminate the illicit trade of genuine tobacco products, making it more difficult for smugglers.
Such systems according to him would be implemented at an international level, rather than each entity developing
its own domestic system, in order to ensure that tracking and tracing across borders are facilitated.

“Hence the urgent need to harmonize all laws establishing a system for tracing and tracking of both manufactured and imported tobacco products across the ECOWAS member states.

“The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), advocates for an increase in the price of tobacco products by raising tobacco tax and levies, as the most cost-effective tobacco control strategy.

It is also pertinent to state that this win-win result of increased revenue from taxation and reduced consumption of tobacco, should be embraced urgently especially at this time when there is a dire need for effective ways of increasing revenue of government and funding health care across the region.”

He pointed out that the meeting will encourage his colleagues and other stakeholders to look critically into the issue of an appropriate tax regime for the ECOWAS region as well as an effective system of tracking and tracing manufactured and imported tobacco products across member states with a view of discouraging demand and use of tobacco and protecting public health.

The minister explained that the key recommendation of the mission earlier led by Dr. Vera Luiza da Costa from Geneva and AFRO posited that there is the need to quickly ratify the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

“For us this is a task that must be done in the shortest possible time for obvious reasons. You will all agree with me that the issue of illicit trade in tobacco products across the ECOWAS sub-region calls for urgent attention as it poses danger not only to public health but also to our economy and the environment.

“Facts from WHO showed that tobacco use costs national economies immensely, this is through increased health-care costs and decreased productivity. It also worsens health inequalities and exacerbates poverty, as the poorest people spend less on essentials such as food, education and health care.’

Adewole said Tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by manufacturers.