Tobacco Act Amendment Bill Is Damaging To Nigeria, Africa Centre Warns NASS

ATIM Director Prof Olalekan Ayo-Yusuf

The Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) has urged the National Assembly to urgently reconsider the proposed amendments to Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act 2015, warning that provisions on “Tobacco Harm Reduction” could undermine the country’s tobacco-control gains.

In a statement seen by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), on Sunday, August 9, 2026, ATIM backed the rejection of the proposed amendments by Nigeria’s tobacco-control community, saying the changes could weaken the existing regulatory framework and create loopholes for tobacco and nicotine companies to expand the use of emerging products, particularly among young people.

The organisation said the development was concerning given Nigeria’s progress in reducing smoking prevalence and its obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

“Nigeria should be strengthening the measures that have helped reduce smoking, not creating new policy openings that could undermine those gains,” ATIM said.

According to the organisation, the amendment process was initially presented as an effort to strengthen implementation of the 2015 Act, address identified weaknesses and close regulatory gaps affecting emerging tobacco and nicotine products.

However, ATIM said the harmonised Bill subsequently considered by the House of Representatives introduced “Tobacco Harm Reduction” as an objective and created separate provisions for non-combustible products, including electronic nicotine products and nicotine pouches.

It argued that the significant shift required greater transparency and public scrutiny, particularly because new nicotine products have become increasingly important to multinational tobacco companies.

ATIM said “Tobacco Harm Reduction” is used by tobacco-control activists to describe an industry-backed approach that promotes products such as vapes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other electronic nicotine delivery systems as alternatives to conventional cigarettes.

The organisation noted that adult smoking prevalence in Nigeria is now estimated at about five to six per cent, describing the reduction as substantial progress compared with previous decades.

It therefore urged the government to focus on proven tobacco-control measures, including comprehensive smoke-free environments, stronger taxation, effective health warnings, prohibition of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, improved cessation support, action against illicit trade and stronger implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC.

ATIM also warned that emerging nicotine products could create new pathways to nicotine addiction, particularly among young people.

It said Nigeria could adopt evidence-based cessation or risk-reduction interventions where they are independently demonstrated to benefit public health, but argued that there was no need to make a “changing and contested commercial concept” such as Tobacco Harm Reduction a statutory objective.

The organisation called on the National Assembly to explain how the provisions relating to Tobacco Harm Reduction and non-combustible products entered the harmonised Bill.

ATIM stressed that it had not established that the tobacco industry drafted or caused the insertion of the provisions, but said their origin should be publicly explained.

It demanded disclosure of stakeholders who proposed the provisions, submissions received during the legislative process, meetings with tobacco and nicotine industry representatives or their allies, and the evidence used to develop the proposed differentiated regulatory framework.

The organisation said such transparency was especially important under Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which requires governments to protect tobacco-control policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.

ATIM also urged tobacco-control organisations, researchers, professional associations and public-health advocates across Africa to closely monitor developments in Nigeria, warning that the country’s legislation could set an important precedent for tobacco-control policy on the continent.

The organisation called on the National Assembly to ensure that any amendment to the Tobacco Control Act strengthens, rather than weakens, Nigeria’s public-health protections and remains aligned with the WHO FCTC.

The statement signed by CAPPA's Media and Communications Officer, Robert Egbe, noted that the development follows last Thursday’s call by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Gatefield Impact, Nigerian Cancer Society, Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja and other members of the Nigerian Tobacco Control Community for the immediate withdrawal of the Bill.

The groups also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent should the proposed legislation be presented for executive approval.