Nigeria Records 28,876 Deaths From Tobacco Smoking Annually – Workshop

By Ayodele Oni

Participants at a workshop in Bauchi have suggested that a well-administered tax can lead to the desired result of reducing consumption of tobacco and its crippling health consequences.

The Senior Programme Officer of CISLAC, Mr. Solomon Adoga, stated this at training workshop for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) on tobacco taxation and gender mainstreaming in Bauchi.

The workshop was organised by CISLAC  with support from Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJNA.)

According to him, tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, adding that more than 7 million of those deaths are as a result of direct tobacco use, while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second hand smoke.

He pointed out that smoking has been found to harm nearly every organ in the body and reduces a person’s overall health, stressing that 1.8 billion smokers live in low and middle income countries.

“Tobacco is a plant also known as Nicotiana Tobacum which naturally contains 2,500 chemicals, one of them being nicotine.

“When the tobacco plant is ripe, leaves are harvested, dried, fermented and aged. Every time you smoke, dangerous toxins are passed through your lungs  then to your bloodstream in your body.

“Smoking tobacco causes exposure to a lethal mixture of more than 7,000 toxic chemicals including at least 70 known carcinogens that can damage nearly every organ system in the human body.

“More than 25,000 children (10 -14 years old) and 7,488,000 young adults (15+years old) continue to use tobacco each day.

“More than 7,086,300 men smoke each day, more than 402,600 women smoke cigarettes each day, 1,965,000 people currently use smokeless tobacco while Nigeria records 28,876 Tobacco smoking related deaths annually.

“Tobacco is a major risk factor for numerous cancers, particularly lung cancer, as well as cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, stomach, and cervix.

“It significantly contributes to the burden of cancer in Nigeria. Beyond that, it also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and respiratory conditions such as emphysema, and bronchitis.

“Tobacco affects reproductive health by impairing fertility in both men and women and increasing risks during pregnancy and childbirth.”

In his remarks, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, represented by the Senior Finance Officer, Muhammed Murtala, said that the objective of the training was to strengthen advocacy efforts in reducing the smoking of Tobacco in the society.

He added that the fight against tobacco consumption requires a collaborative efforts, urging the stakeholders at the training to build their capacities in order to become change agents in the society,

Murtala stressed on the need for public health interventions, policy reforms, and increased awareness campaigns to curb the tobacco epidemic in Nigeria.