Reps Urge FG to Increase Tobacco Control Fund Allocation to ₦100m
The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Government to allocate ₦100 million to Nigeria’s Tobacco Control Fund.
The lawmakers made this call after the adoption of a motion at the plenary session on Wednesday.
The motion tagged, “Need for the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to Nigeria’s Tobacco Control Fund,” was moved by Bassey Akiba, house member representing Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal Constituency, Cross River State.
Akiba reminded FG of Section 8 of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 which stipulates that there shall be funding for the National Tobacco Control Committee to enforce compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Despite the FG’s increased allocation towards Tobacco Control Fund from ₦4.7m to ₦10m in the 2024 budget, the lawmaker noted that the sum could not help in tobacco control.
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According to him, health risks arising from consumption of tobacco could get worse if the necessary steps are not taken on time.
“While this commitment is encouraging, N10m is insufficient to meet the needs of the under-resourced Tobacco Control Fund, domiciled under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
“Tobacco control is a government priority due to its significant impact on preventable death, including cancer, and its annual economic cost. It kills nearly 30, 000 Nigerians annually and shortens life expectancy by ten years. It increases cardiovascular disease and stroke risks. The House is worried that cigarette smoke contains 7,000 chemicals and about 70 of them cause cancer.
“In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke increases heart attack risk in non-smokers by 60% and lung cancer risk by 30%. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. The House is aware that with the fund, the National Tobacco and other ministries and agencies responsible for the enforcement of the Act would be equipped to enforce the prohibition of smoking in public places to advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products.
“We are aware that the budgetary allocation for tobacco control will address the needs of those agencies of government so as not to depend on international donors or local non-governmental organisations and the tobacco industry players. With Nigeria’s frail health system, there is a need to prioritise financing and control measures to prevent tobacco-related diseases, as consumption is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases like respiratory illness, cardiovascular disorder and cancer.
“With the adoption of the motion, the House presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas urged the federal government to increase the budgetary allocation of the Nigeria Tobacco Control from last year’s budget of N10m to N100m in the 2025 budget estimates to enable it to carry out its statutory functions effectively,” Akiba stated.
Other areas the lawmakers demanded of the Federal Ministry of Health was in regards to providing an update on the status of the Tobacco Control Fund, including details on the current balance, sources of money in the fund and details of previous spending from the fund.
