As the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) kicks off in Geneva, Switzerland, Nigerian civil society organisations (CSOs) are sending a clear message: the nation’s public health must not be compromised by the tobacco industry.
In a joint statement, advocacy groups including the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Gatefield, and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) raised concerns over a renewed push by the tobacco industry to influence global negotiations. Using proxies, the industry is reportedly promoting the inclusion of nicotine-based and other novel products — such as e-cigarettes — under the banner of “harm reduction.”
The CSOs warned that succumbing to industry pressures would undermine decades of progress in tobacco control. “Novel nicotine products are simply the new faces of the same deadly business,” the statement read. They urged Nigeria’s delegates to reject all forms of tobacco industry-linked funding, partnerships, or influence, reminding them that both domestic law and international obligations require vigilance.
Specifically, the groups cited Sections 25-28, 33-34, and 38(2) of the National Tobacco Control Act, which prohibit government officers and agencies from any financial or non-financial relationship with the tobacco industry. They also highlighted Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which obliges parties to protect public health policies from commercial and vested interests.
Industry interference, the CSOs stressed, remains the single greatest obstacle to effective tobacco control. The introduction of novel nicotine products, they warned, threatens to reverse hard-won public health gains, potentially exposing millions of Nigerians to new forms of nicotine addiction.
As COP 11 unfolds, the eyes of public health advocates will be on Nigeria’s delegation. The message from home is clear: protect public health, uphold the law, and resist the influence of an industry that profits from harm
