Nigeria Tobacco Industry Interference Report launched

On the 20th of September, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) launched the 2020 tobacco industry interference index report for Nigeria. The report covering the 2018 and 2019 period shows that Nigeria has an overall score of 49. In the report, tobacco control advocates state that despite clear laws and policies in place, the tobacco industry continues to participate in the development of health policies, engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well as unnecessary interactions that deter proper implementation of tobacco control programs in the country.

This, therefore, requires the government to strengthen its efforts in ensuring transparency and integrity in its association with the tobacco industry. The advocates also recommended that the government should fully implement the National Control Act 2015 as well as the regulations in place.

The report forms part of the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, a global survey of how public health policies are protected from the industry’s subversive efforts, and how governments have pushed back against this influence.

The Tobacco Industry Interference Index was initiated by the South-East Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) as a regional report with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) and is part of a global publication of the Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) at the School of Global Studies in Thammasat University. Click here for the full report