NTCA Demands Enforcement Of Ban On Tobacco Advertising
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) is calling upon the relevant authorities to enforce a ban on the advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco.
Chibuike Nwokorie, the NTCA programme officer, had made the call last Wednesday during a press briefing on the violation of the ban on Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship (TAPS) in Abuja.
He stated that Nigeria is a signatory to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) and added that Nigeria had ratified this treaty in 2005, and enacted the National Tobacco Control Act in 2015 so as to domesticate the treaty, “Four years later, in December 2019, the Regulations that give teeth to the Act were approved.”
Nwokorie pointed that advertising is an effective tool that is used by the tobacco industry in order to increase product sales, market share and profits, saying that the tobacco industry knows this too well and spends billions of dollars on advertising their products.
Read Also: Tobacco: FG Raises Tax On Products To 30%
Read Also:
He then expressed his worry that films, videos, and many digital platforms have continued to escape the scrutiny of the government. This, he mentions, has given the tobacco industry much leeway in perpetuating the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco in movies, music videos and lyrics, while strategically placing their products on several digital media platforms.
He explained that in 2021, Big Brother Naija, a popular reality TV programme, which is hosted on the GOTV and DSTV platforms, had sparked public outrage when its participants blatantly smoked on live TV, “This depiction of smoking as glamorous challenged the provisions of the NTC Act, 2015 on on-screen smoking, it also threatened the gains made on the ban on TAPS in Nigeria. When it happened, the tobacco control community called on the National Broadcasting Commission to act immediately.
“This year, as the program is about to begin its 7th season, we are drawing the attention of the NBC to proactively engage the organisers of the show to ensure that there is no repeat of last year’s violations. We wish to make it clear that should there be a reluctance on the part of the regulators or the organizers to ensure a smoke-free program, we will explore every available option in the interest of public health.”
He emphasised that entertainment products set the agenda for many young people because they are the eyes through which the youths see the world, while he also called on the NBC to exercise its mandate to ensure that BBN does not flout any provision of the NTC Act and that should any of the provisions be flouted, the Commission must enforce to full effect the penalties that are listed in the law.
Nwokorie also called upon the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) to caution its members from flouting tobacco control laws and also urged for the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to live up to its responsibility.
