FG to raise tax on tobacco products to 50% – Official

The Federal Government says it will increase excise tax on tobacco products from 30 per cent ad-valorem to 50 per cent as part of measures to control tobacco smoking in the country.

Dr. Mangai Malau, head of the Federal Ministry of Health’s Noncommunicable Disease Division’s tobacco control unit, made this announcement on Tuesday during the National Tobacco Control Budget Advocates Meeting in Abuja.

Malau gave a presentation titled

“Overview of Tobacco Control Funding and Budgeting in Nigeria: Why Is It Important?”

According to him, the Federal Government currently levies a 30% tax on tobacco products, but its goal is to raise that to 50% in order to comply with World Health Organization standards.

According to him, if they want to address the issues of tobacco control in the nation, important stakeholders must apply tax measures correctly and taxation must account for a significant portion of funds for tobacco control.

“In effectively controlling tobacco and tobacco products in Nigeria, funding is a critical component. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recognises this and clearly stipulates in Article 26.

“It states that parties shall provide financial support in respect of its national activities intended to achieve the objective of the Convention, in accordance with its national plans, priorities and programmes.

“It is also important to state that funding is a major provision of the National Tobacco Control Act.

“Section eight of the Act, provides for the Tobacco Control Fund, which shall be used to fund tobacco control activities programmes and projects,” Malau said.

He asserts that the purpose of this meeting is to discuss ways to improve tobacco control funding so that Nigeria can achieve the goals of the WHO FCTC and the NTC Act.

He said, “Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke is a leading cause of mortality, morbidity, disability and impoverishment in the world.

“It is the greatest risk factor for non-communicable diseases like hypertension, stroke, cancers, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

According to him, WHO said: “tobacco causes more than eight million deaths annually around the world, with more than seven million of those deaths as a result of direct tobacco use.

“And about 1.2 million resulting from non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

He said that tobacco smoke contained over 7,000 chemicals, of which hundreds were toxic and about 70 are known to cause cancer.

“Also, there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke and even a brief exposure can be harmful to one’s health.

“Concerned about the threat from tobacco, Nigeria signed and ratified the WHO FCTC, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. In 2015, the National Tobacco Control Act was enacted and its Regulations was passed in 2019,” he said.

Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, the chairman of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), emphasized in his remarks the necessity for civil society organizations to lobby for increased budgetary support for tobacco control in the nation.

In July, when the government’s ministries, departments, and agencies would start the presentation and defense of the 2024 budgets, Oluwafemi urged CSOs to start the budgetary advocacy.

He asserts that it’s crucial for CSOs to collaborate while engaging in advocacy.