Group urges Senate to accelerate passage of Tobacco control bill
An advocacy group, Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) has urged the Senate to accelerate passage of the draft Tobacco Control Regulations Bill for the country to effectively implement the National Tobacco Control (NTC) Act 2015.
The group pleaded that the Senate concur with the draft of the regulations approved by the House of Representatives on May 7.
ATCA on Tuesday in Abuja at a press conference organized to call for strong tobacco control regulations called the Senate’s attention to the disturbing trends in tobacco control in Nigeria
The group cited the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics that show that tobacco use among adults in Nigeria is currently 5.6 per cent and that of smokeless tobacco is 1.9% per cent while among the youth smoking tobacco has jumped to 14.4 per cent and that of smokeless tobacco 8.8 per cent.
Deputy Executive Director ERA/FoEN, Akinbode Oluwafemi emphasized that the 8th Senate tenure ends by June 6, urging that it is necessary to consider draft regulation of the tobacco control bill within weeks.
Another advocate, the Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Hilda Ochefu said the group counts on the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and other members of the National Assembly to resist attempts by the tobacco industry and their allies to water down the provisions of the regulations and ensure speedy passage.
Recall that most provisions of the Act have not been implemented because of a clause which requires the Federal Ministry of Health to draft tobacco control regulations based on the Act and transmit it to the National Assembly for approval.
