Tobacco Control Groups Reject Amendment Bill, Demand Immediate Recall

Nigeria’s tobacco-control community has rejected the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, describing it as a dangerous reversal of public-health protections and a threat to young people.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, 13 tobacco-control, health and civil society organisations called on the relevant committees of the National Assembly to immediately withdraw the bill and urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent if it is presented for executive approval.

The statement was signed by Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation in Africa (CAPPA), Gatefield Impact, Youth Coalition Against Cancer, Nigerian Cancer Society, Call Off Cancer Initiative, Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja, A New Thing International Foundation, Oncology Nursing Society of Nigeria, Development Initiative for Society Health, Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, and Trailblazers Initiative.

The coalition said the proposed amendment would weaken existing safeguards and create a more commercially permissive regime for electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other non-combustible products.

The groups particularly objected to provisions they said could reopen tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship through adult publications, online platforms, retail outlets and adult events.

They argued that the bill’s definition of an “adult publication” as one where people above 18 constitute at least 50 per cent of readership could still expose large numbers of young people to tobacco and nicotine advertising.

Citing UNICEF data, the coalition said more than 60 per cent of Nigerians are below 30, over 70 per cent are under 35, while 43 per cent are aged 15 or younger.

It also cited a Nigerian Communications Commission study which found that 93 per cent of surveyed children aged 11 to 16 and 45 per cent of those aged four to 10 accessed the internet using their own phones.

The organisations warned that the proposed provisions could therefore provide a lawful route for tobacco and nicotine advertisements to reach young people through newspapers, magazines, blogs and digital platforms.

The coalition also condemned provisions allowing online purchases, courier deliveries, retail displays and sampling of some non-combustible products. It argued that Nigeria lacks the enforcement capacity to effectively monitor social-media advertisements, online transactions and home deliveries.

According to the groups, the amendment would further weaken packaging and health-warning requirements, allow cigars to be sold in packs of five, restrict nicotine-pouch warnings and exempt vaping and tobacco-heating devices from carrying health warnings.

They also criticised provisions that would allow tobacco and nicotine companies to designate product information as “trade secrets,” arguing that this could prevent researchers, public-health experts and civil society organisations from independently assessing the safety and risks of the products.

The coalition further raised concerns over provisions giving the Minister of Health powers to exempt non-combustible products from statutory requirements on an undefined “public interest” basis, warning that such discretion could encourage corporate lobbying and regulatory capture.

The groups demanded the public disclosure of all versions of the bill, committee reports, public-hearing records, stakeholder memoranda, voting records and related correspondence.

They also questioned whether the substantially expanded bill, including its new Third Schedule, had undergone adequate public consultation, noting that the version presented at the November 22, 2024 public hearing did not contain the controversial provisions now being challenged.

The coalition urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Attorney-General of the Federation, national regulators and the National Tobacco Control Committee to clarify their positions on the bill.

It maintained that all tobacco and nicotine products should be regulated under one strong, product-neutral framework, with advertising, promotion, sponsorship, retail displays, sampling and remote sales prohibited.