Group to F.G: Implement National Tobacco Control Act.

A non Governmental Organization, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) on Wednesday called on Federal Government to implement the National Tobacco Control Act.

The Senior Program Officer (ECOWAS & AU) Mr Okeke Anya made this call in Abuja at (CISLAC)’s One Day Workshop for the Media Towards Supporting Effective Tobacco Control (TC) in Nigeria, in Abuja.

Okeke said that National Tobacco Control Act is a health related act, government should go ahead and make sure that they have a stronger tobacco control on laws, so that we can exceed and have whatever it takes to make us have a stronger control policy and where a stronger control is accepted.

Okeke noted that "one of the best way to make the people to know about it is by engaging the media and to know what is in the act and how can citizen begin to respond.

Okeke while presenting a text on the World Health Organization Frame work Conventions on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) revealed that ”the act is coming of the convention, Framework Convention Tobacco Control act.

The FCTC is the world’s first public health treaty design to reduce devastating health and economic impact of tobacco to date.

It is the whole process of getting Nigeria to be domesticated that gave rise to the act and the act is in such a way that we can control tobacco use.

He said " tobacco is a global problem, this is not only a Nigeria problem. Statistics shows that almost one billion men 250 million women are daily smokers. One in ten death linked to tobacco. Six million people died each year from tobacco use".

Earlier at workshop, Executive Director CISLAC, Mr Auwal Ibrahim Musa who was represented by the Secretary/ Assistant Program officer, Mrs Abimbola Okoilu- Miro, maintained that the programme came at the appropriate time when the law is new and fresh.

She further stated that "Nigerians are not yet aware of it, unless those who are in the forefront to make sure it becomes a law".