A recent study on the tobacco industry’s influence in Nigeria has shown a discernible rise in the industry’s involvement in public health regulations, particularly those pertaining to tobacco control.
Nigeria’s ratings fell from 53 in 2021 to 60 in 2023, according to a research released by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, or CAPPA, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies via the Center for Good Governance.
Akinbode Oluwafemi, the Executive Director of CAPPA, revealed this information yesterday during a media briefing in Lagos.
In her speech, Oluwafemi stated: “The report indicates that the Nigerian government is facing significant challenges. They are also failing to comply with transparency mechanisms and disclose their interactions with the industry as required by the National Tobacco Control Regulations 2019 and the National Tobacco Control Act of 2015.”
According to the research, the tobacco industry takes full advantage of these breaches to sway public health policies and discussions.
“Other areas of concern highlighted in the report are the needless and unhealthy relationship between the tobacco industry and public officials, particularly in the agriculture sector, where high-ranking government officials have been seen publicly endorsing the industry’s practices on multiple occasions.
“The tobacco industry uses the media and social media to loudly celebrate its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in an attempt to improve its reputation and draw in unsuspecting customers by projecting an image of responsibility and desirability for the industry and its products.
State officials, who work with business to implement socioeconomic empowerment programs, support these corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts.
The National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA, 2015) and its Regulations of 2019 contain ambiguities that, when not strictly enforced, unintentionally allow the tobacco business to operate with impunity.
For example, the NTCA requires the tobacco industry to provide yearly reports on tobacco and tobacco products, but it also reserves the right for the Minister to decide whether or not to make this information public. It is challenging for public health advocates to confirm whether or not compliance is being enforced because of this voluntary disclosure.
“The industry’s ongoing involvement in the formulation of policy in Nigeria, including its pleasure in receiving invitations from government agencies and interagency bodies to meetings where confidential decisions regarding public health are made,” he said.
“The Nigerian government must work to ensure that public officials in relevant ministries, departments, and agencies sign conflict-of-interest forms periodically to remind them of commitments or obligations that may compromise their office and operations,” stated Zikora Ibeh, Policy and Research Officer of CAPPA.
The study also assigned state authorities the responsibility of creating clear rules for the complete disclosure of meeting minutes and proceedings as well as proceedings from interactions with the tobacco industry, in order to foster intergovernmental synergy at all levels. To start, it recommended that Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and MDAs that were pertinent update their websites and other information platforms frequently in order to promote transparency and ease the spread of information.
Researchers at CAPPA measured and assessed instances of tobacco industry intervention in Nigeria using 20 questions based on the guidelines provided in Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). These recommendations exhort member nations to enact strong safeguards against tobacco industry influence on their tobacco control laws.
