Group Decries Effect of Tobacco on Children, Adolescents
Safetynet
For Children (SFC), a non-governmental organisation that seeks to advance the
good health of Nigerians, particularly children and the adolescent, has drawn
the attention of the government and Nigerians to the effect of tobacco to
children and young adults.
According to a statement signed and made
available to journalists today by the group Chairman, Akomas Brent C.,
“We want to draw attention
to recent developments in the tobacco industry in Nigeria especially as
regards
the effect to lives.
“Perhaps unknown to many, children and
young adults are
becoming increasingly vulnerable
to the habit of tobacco products consumption, a trend which poses grave danger
to the future of our country, considering the significance of this segment of
the population in nation building both now and in the future.
“In this regard, we hereby draw the attention of
Nigerians to some provisions in the 2016 review document by the Technical
Committee on Standards for Tobacco and Tobacco Products set up by the Nigerian
Industrial Standard for Tobacco and Tobacco Products.”
SFC added
that item on page nine of the document states
as follows that: “Flavouring substances,
excluding menthol, with potential to initiate or appeal to children, such as strawberry, banana, apple
among others, should
not be used
in the manufacture of cigarette.”
It noted that it finds the exclusion of menthol from
this list questionable as what this intends to achieve is quite unclear.
Studies have shown that before the introduction of banana, apple, strawberry,
flavours in cigarettes, child smokers were already very much used
to menthol
flavoured-cigarettes and that they (children) still smoke menthol cigarettes up till
now.
“In
other words, the
exclusion of menthol is incapable
of discouraging children and
young adults from the consumption of tobacco products, for the simple reason
that they will merely retain their patronage of menthol products which had been
aggressively marketed to them in the past, long before the introduction of
banana, apple and strawberry products. So, if prohibiting products other than
menthol-flavoured ones cannot stop the kids from consuming tobacco products, it
remains unclear what their prohibition on one hand and the retention of menthol
on the other will achieve,” Brent stated.
However, he
stressed that there is a world-wide raging debate on the effect of menthol in
cigarettes, especially on black people, adding that “We call on the relevant
authorities to take another look on this
policy of excluding
menthol from the
list of prohibited
flavours in cigarettes, especially in view of its
harmful nature and addictive potencies on the young people.
“We are aware that cigarette manufactures all over
the world have always had the power to lobby for the institutionalisation of
policies that enhance their trade in spite of obvious harmful effects of their
products to the consumers. However, it
is our expectation that the crusade on the harmful effects of tobacco
consumption should be total, decisive and devoid of any suspicions to either
deliberately or inadvertently enhance the existing monopolistic tendencies in
the industry especially in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, SFC joins in the on-going advocacy
for measures aimed at increasing the cost of tobacco products especially
through raising taxes, which studies have shown to be the most effective way of
reducing consumption and preventing children and young adults from cultivating
the habit in the first place.”
