The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has urged government at all levels to reject tobacco industry-linked development initiatives that can influence public policy decisions.
The Communications Officer, Mr Emmanuel Onwuka made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Wednesday.
Onwuka expressed concerns over Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) initiatives sponsored by tobacco companies and their foundations across Nigeria.
He stated that one of the major tobacco companies in Nigeria had reportedly implemented more than 300 community projects nationwide.
“The company has also empowered 300,000 farmers, planted 500,000 trees, and constructed 105 solar-powered boreholes,” he said.
The NTCA official said the interventions by tobacco companies could portray tobacco them as critical development partners.
He said that Article 5.3 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control protected tobacco-control policies from the commercial interests of tobacco companies.
“Nigeria ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005, its guidelines call for denormalising and regulating tobacco industry activities presented as socially responsible,” he said.
According to Onwuka, the Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025 identified tobacco-related CSR activities in Nigeria as a strategy capable of creating legitimacy and facilitating access to policymakers.
He said that projects involving water, agriculture, education and entrepreneurship had been implemented in Lagos, Oyo and other states, sometimes involving government ministries, agencies and local authorities.
“Public endorsement of tobacco industry-sponsored projects by government officials could undermine Article 5.3, which seeks to prevent commercial interests from interfering with tobacco-control policies and measures.
“The public health consequences of tobacco use should not be overlooked because communities receive boreholes, agricultural support, grants or other development interventions from tobacco-linked organisations,” he said.
Onwuka said that available data showed that smoking has been associated with about 29,000 deaths annually in Nigeria, while tobacco-related illness also contributed significantly to healthcare costs and productivity losses.
Onwuka said that the implication was that Nigerian families could lose parents, spouses and siblings prematurely, saying, “affected households also face medical expenses, reduced incomes and diminished economic opportunities”
He urged government to strengthen tobacco-control measures through increased taxation, larger health warnings, comprehensive marketing restrictions, smoke-free environments and stronger protection of children and young people.Onwuka urged the public and policymakers to critically examine tobacco-linked philanthropy, and that Nigeria should protect public health while ensuring that development initiatives did not compromise tobacco-control objectives.
