By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
HEALTH ADVOCACY groups, the Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), have strongly criticised the N13million allocation for tobacco control in the 2025 national budget, describing it as grossly insufficient.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, the organisations urged the federal government to prioritise the Tobacco Control Fund (TCF) and increase its allocation to at least N300 million to mitigate the devastating health impacts of tobacco use in the country.
CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, decried the government’s reluctance to adequately fund tobacco control initiatives, warning that inadequate financing weakens public health interventions and regulatory enforcement.
While acknowledging the gradual increases in the TCF from N4.7million in 2023 to N10million in 2024 and N13 million in 2025, he stressed that these figures remain far below the required funding level for effective implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015.
“The lives of Nigerians are at stake. We urge the government to prioritise the Tobacco Control Fund, increase its allocation to at least N300 million, and curb the influence of the tobacco industry, which relentlessly promotes harmful products,” Oluwafemi stated.
According to government records, tobacco use is responsible for approximately 26,800 deaths annually in Nigeria, with thousands more suffering from tobacco-related illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and stroke.
Health advocates argue that beyond the direct health consequences, tobacco use exacerbates poverty, as families struggling with medical expenses are often forced into financial hardship.
The environmental impact of tobacco production was also highlighted, with the groups stressing that vast swaths of agricultural land are diverted for tobacco cultivation instead of food production.
Additionally, the industry generates significant plastic waste, with discarded cigarette butts polluting ecosystems and water sources.
The NTCA and CAPPA further warned that the tobacco industry is actively circumventing regulations by promoting new nicotine products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), heated tobacco products (HTPs), snus, and oral nicotine pouches.
These products, they asserted, are aggressively marketed to young Nigerians, ensuring the industry continues to recruit a new generation of users.
“While the government drags its feet on adequate allocation to the Tobacco Control Fund, the tobacco industry is relentlessly lobbying the public to embrace newer, stylish kinds of harmful tobacco products that it falsely presents as ‘less harmful’ or ‘safer’ than traditional tobacco use,” Oluwafemi cautioned.
NTCA’s Alliance Coordinator, Olawale Makanjuola, stressed the need for transparency in administering the TCF, warning that merely increasing allocations without efficient deployment would be counterproductive.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to comply with the NTCA Act by ensuring that all funds are properly remitted and utilised.
“The National Tobacco Control Act requires that funds allocated for tobacco control in the national budget or from other sources are to be remitted to the Tobacco Control Fund account for proper utilisation,” Makanjuola stated, advocating for regular updates on fund balance and expenditure.
Michael Olaniyan, Country Coordinator for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, echoed the call for increased funding, warning that the failure to adequately finance tobacco control efforts endangers public health, fuels youth addiction, and places additional burdens on Nigeria’s healthcare system.
In addition to increased funding, the advocates urged the federal government to strengthen regulatory enforcement, particularly in licensing manufacturers, importers, and vendors, as outlined in the Tobacco Control Act.
They noted that while licensing fees are minimal, proper enforcement would generate revenue to support tobacco control initiatives before seeking external donor support.
Furthermore, the groups called for the removal of bureaucratic barriers preventing the National Tobacco Control Committee (NATOCC) and the Tobacco Control Unit (TCU) from accessing the fund, ensuring they can effectively carry out their mandates.
The advocates reiterated that donor reliance is unsustainable and urged the Nigerian government to take full responsibility for protecting public health by operationalising the Tobacco Control Fund with a substantial and sustained financial commitment.
