Public health implication of a smoke free environment

…as about five million people die annually from smoke related deaths globally

Even as tobacco smoking is a universal phenomenon, various countries have in the past sought for ways on how to curb public smoking in view of the public health hazards which second-hand smokers are exposed to following the inhalation of tobacco fumes.

With no nation having to benefit economically from smoking, the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention describes tobacco use as "the single most important preventable risk to human health in developed countries and an important cause of premature death worldwide”.

To further reinforce this view, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that about 1.3 billion people across the globe are currently smoking with most of them in the developing countries. Sadly, with tobacco said to kill close to five million people annually worldwide with over 70 percent occurring in developing countries including Nigeria, the need to preserve the health of Nigerians viz-a-viz curbing public smoking engineered the passage of National Tobacco Control bill (NTCB) by the Senate on March 15^th 2011 following unanimous voting at the national assembly.

The bill, a comprehensive law which provided regulations of supply and demand measures of tobacco products which was sponsored by Olorunimbe Mamora, senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, has elicited reactions from Nigerians of different spheres of lives as to how possible the bill will be implemented in view of preserving the health of Nigerians.

Lending his view to BusinessDay, Owoeye Akinsola, Project officer, National Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) said that the Nigeria Senate has risen to protect public health and etched its name in gold for passing the bill which will ensure a reversal of increasing deaths.

Akinsola stated that the need to protect the non smoking public from the dangers associated with cigarette smoking makes it necessary for the enforcement of the ban of smoking in public places. He noted that medical evidence suggests that exposure to second hand smoke can cause diseases and death.

According to Akinsola “Second hand smoking is a combination of the smoke which a smoker exhales and the one that comes out of the burning end of a cigarette. Also known as the Environmental Tobacco Smoke, it is a mixture of about 4,000 cancer causing chemicals that are extremely harmful to the body. It has been established that for every eight smokers who die, one innocent bystander also dies from second hand smoke and if one is exposed to second hand smoke for about 2 hours, then the person must have smoked an equivalent of four cigarettes. Second hand smoke is as deadly as the real tobacco smoke.

“A smoke free Nigeria will put public health above profits made from selling cigarettes. It will reduce the rate of smoking especially among the young and underage people. Smoke free public places will even make the environment clean and residents can breathe safe air. It will also help towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), of having poverty halved by 2015 because money spent on tobacco product will be help provide food and shelters for families,” he concluded.

For his part, Akinbode Oluwafemi, Programme Manager, Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) noted that the bill is about public health and protection of the citizen. Oluwafemi stated that the bill is set to regulate the manufacture, distribution and marketing of tobacco products in Nigeria which in turn is set to save millions of Nigerians who are addicted to cigarettes and those who are likely to take up the habit.

According to him “The bill is not about closing down the tobacco industry and throwing people into unemployment. All over the world, there are regulations and guidelines for the business of tobacco because of the obvious health implications. So, this bill is setting the agenda for our public health ensuring that the tobacco industry cannot again target our young people, that the industry cannot entice our youth any longer. It bans advertisement and promotion of tobacco products. It recommends effective warnings on cigarette packs. It prohibits smoking in public places among many other measures.

He continued “We don’t see Nigerians disobeying this law. Please don’t forget that this is one of the bills that have massive public support because of the health benefits. Some states have even passed complimentary laws like Osun state and the Federal Capital that have bans on smoking in public places. The world over compliance to such public health laws is always high and Nigeria will not be an exception. In Osun state, institutions that you least expect to support the bill like the Road Transport Union, are by themselves taking measures to ensure that their members comply with the new smoke free laws.

“The same scenario replicated itself in Abuja and from the feedback we are getting this is a law that Nigerians want and support so; we have no reason to doubt its compliance. Aside all these, the bill has a provision for enforcement under Section 5. So, this bill is a comprehensive package and we are also going to embark on massive public awareness about the provisions of the bill and the penalties attached to the flouting of it.  Also, the onus is on every Nigerian to ensure that the law is obeyed by calling the attention of the enforcement agencies to any infraction that might have been committed.”

Taking a cursory look at the entire situation, it is noteworthy to state that the law will protect millions of Nigerians from dying from tobacco related illnesses. However, in 2006, a survey carried out by the Lagos State Government in eleven state hospitals indicated that two persons die each day from a tobacco related disease.

Also, recent surveys conducted in some parts of Northern Nigeria indicated a worrying trend of increased use of tobacco products by young people. Now, there are sections in this bill that discouraged the sale of single sticks cigarettes and prohibition of sale of cigarettes to young people. These are guaranteed health benefits of the implementation of the bill.

No doubt, the National Tobacco Control bill is a piece of legislation that addresses both the sanctity of human health and wellbeing as well as address the problematic interface between the demands of human subsistence and the need for natural balance in the eco-system within our environment.

Even as it serves as an affirmation of the commitment of Nigeria to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) initiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which is a global treaty, the seriousness and commitment of Nigeria to the international convention on tobacco control as demonstrated by the passage of the bill has positioned Nigeria among the league of countries making concerted efforts towards promoting clean and sustainable ecosystem.