Participants at a high-level session on tobacco tax earmarking convened by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and the Federal Ministry of Health have highlighted the importance of the establishment of Tobacco Control Fund for successful implementation of tobacco control policies in the country.
The meeting, held in Abuja on Wednesday, was attended by senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria Customs Service, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trades and Investment, Budget Office of the federation, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), as well as Centre for the study of economics of Africa and the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), among others. In a communiqué issued at the end of the event, participants noted that tobacco is a leading cause of death globally and the tobacco issue in Nigeria requires urgent attention, especially with the various novel products and advertising methods that the tobacco industries are contriving. They averred that the burden of tobacco-induced diseases on public health of the country is high and concerted effort is needed to address the spate of tobacco induced diseases (non-communicable diseases) in the country. They stressed that according to global best practices and recommendations of various experts, high tobacco taxes remain the single most effective and cost effective way to reduce tobacco use. It was observed that healthcare and health coverage in Nigeria are underfunded and tobacco control needs more funding, which can be achieved through earmarking of tobacco taxes because of its success rate in other countries.
Source: Leadership