One billion people still smoke as Nigerians spend $931m on 18bn cigarettes
Public health
estimates suggest one billion people worldwide still smoke and almost 8 million
deaths per year are attributed to smoking-related diseases.
These same
sources predict the number of smokers worldwide will be roughly the same in
2025.
According to
a report by PMI Global Services Inc., an American multinational company with a
workforce of over 79,800 people, quitting all forms of tobacco and nicotine
consumption is the best choice—but in any given year, 9 out of 10 adult smokers
continue to smoke.
The report
said this is why a new regulatory approach that complements traditional tobacco
control measures with scientifically substantiated smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes
is urgently needed.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has
one of the leading tobacco markets in Africa, with over 18 billion cigarettes
sold annually costing Nigerians over $931 million.
Following the 2003 World Health Organization (WHO)
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Nigeria ratified the convention
agreement in 2005, and in 2015 signed into law the National Tobacco Control
(NTC) Act that regulates all aspects of tobacco control including advertising,
packaging, and smoke-free areas.
Despite these initiatives, some reports suggest the
prevalence of smoking in the country is rising at about four per cent per year.
The WHO estimated about 13 million smokers in Nigeria in
2012, with over 16,000 deaths attributable to smoking.
Increased commerce by international tobacco companies and
the relative role they play in economic growth may have contributed to a rise
in smoking rates.
Although, some
national estimates of smoking prevalence have been reported, the exact number
of smokers remains debated, which possibly hinders health policy.
PMI said some
of the innovative products it initiated,including heated tobacco, e-cigarettes,
nicotine pouches, and snus, don’t burn tobacco. As a result, they can produce
significantly lower average levels of harmful chemicals, making them a much
better choice for adult smokers who don’t quit.
Despite the
public health opportunity represented by these products, many countries still
pursue a prohibitive approach that includes regulating them like cigarettes or
banning them outright.
Using World
Health Organization (WHO) data, estimates, and methods, along with other
third-party research, the positive potential public health impact of the
world’s smokers switching completely from cigarettes to less harmful,
smoke-free products can be seen.
This
hypothetical model shows that if these products are assumed to be 80 percent
less risky than cigarettes and if adults who currently smoke were to switch to them
completely then over their lifetime there’s a potential for a 10-fold reduction
in smoking-attributable deaths compared with historical tobacco control
measures alone.2
Whilst there
are limitations to this kind of hypothetical analysis, this estimate begins to
show the potential human impact of inaction.
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