By: Peter Emmanuel |
The Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) has urged the National Assembly (NASS) to reconsider proposed amendments to Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act 2015, warning that provisions on “Tobacco Harm Reduction” could weaken existing tobacco control measures.
ATIM made the call in a statement seen by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) on Sunday, August 9, 2026, where it backed the Nigerian tobacco control community’s opposition to the proposed changes.
The organisation said the proposed amendments could create regulatory openings for tobacco and nicotine products, particularly emerging products marketed as alternatives to conventional tobacco products.
It said the development was concerning given Nigeria’s progress in reducing smoking prevalence and the country’s obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
“Nigeria should be strengthening the measures that have helped reduce smoking, not creating new policy openings that could undermine those gains,” ATIM said.
ATIM Raises Alarm Over Proposed Tobacco Provisions
According to ATIM, the amendment process was initially presented as an effort to strengthen implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015, address identified weaknesses and close loopholes affecting emerging tobacco and nicotine products.
The organisation, however, said the harmonised Bill subsequently considered by the House of Representatives introduced “Tobacco Harm Reduction” as one of its objectives and created separate provisions for non-combustible products, including electronic nicotine products and nicotine pouches.
ATIM said the changes required greater transparency and public scrutiny, particularly because of the growing commercial importance of emerging nicotine products.
The organisation said tobacco control activists consider “Tobacco Harm Reduction” a strategy used to promote nicotine products by presenting them as tools that could help smokers quit.
It listed products such as vapes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, smokeless nicotine pouches and other electronic nicotine delivery systems among the products covered by the debate.
ATIM said Nigeria should instead continue strengthening proven tobacco control measures, including smoke-free environments, tobacco taxation, health warnings, restrictions on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, cessation support and measures against illicit tobacco trade.
Group Warns of Health Risks, Youth Nicotine Addiction
ATIM noted that adult smoking prevalence in Nigeria is now estimated at about five to six per cent, describing the reduction as important progress that should not be reversed.
The organisation warned that emerging nicotine products could provide another pathway to nicotine addiction, particularly among young people.
It called for public health considerations to remain central to any review of the tobacco control law, rather than creating regulatory frameworks around concepts that it described as commercially driven and contested.
“Nothing prevents Nigeria from adopting evidence-based cessation or risk-reduction interventions where they are independently demonstrated to benefit population health,” ATIM said.
“But there is no need to embed a changing and contested commercial concept such as ‘Tobacco Harm Reduction’ as a statutory objective,” it added.
ATIM urged the government to strengthen measures that support smoking cessation and prevent young people from becoming dependent on nicotine.
It also called for stronger implementation of Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which requires governments to protect tobacco control policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
ATIM Calls for Transparency in Amendment Process
ATIM urged the National Assembly to clarify how the provisions relating to “Tobacco Harm Reduction” and non-combustible products were introduced into the harmonised Bill.
The organisation said it had not established that the tobacco industry drafted or caused the insertion of the provisions, but argued that their source should be publicly explained because of the growing commercial interests surrounding new nicotine products.
It called for disclosure of stakeholders who proposed the relevant provisions, submissions received during the legislative process and meetings held with tobacco and nicotine industry representatives or organisations representing their interests.
ATIM also requested information on the evidence relied upon in developing the proposed differentiated regulatory framework.
It said greater transparency was particularly important under Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, given the need to protect tobacco control policies from commercial and other vested interests.
The organisation further urged tobacco control organisations, researchers, professional associations and public health advocates across Africa to monitor developments in Nigeria, warning that changes to the country’s tobacco control framework could influence policy in other African countries.
ATIM called on the National Assembly to ensure that any amendment to the Tobacco Control Act strengthens rather than weakens Nigeria’s public health protections and remains aligned with the WHO FCTC.
The call followed a demand by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Gatefield Impact, the Nigerian Cancer Society, the Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja, and other members of the Nigerian Tobacco Control Community for the withdrawal of the proposed Bill.
The groups also urged Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent if the Bill is eventually presented for executive approval.
