Civil Society Warns Nigerian Delegates Ahead Of Global Tobacco Talks
As Nigeria prepares to take its seat at a crucial global health negotiation in Geneva, civil society groups are sounding the alarm: public health must come before profit.
With the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control beginning tomorrow, advocates say the stakes have never been higher.
A coalition of tobacco control organisations — including the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Gatefield, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), and the Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development, has issued a stern warning to Nigeria’s delegation: do not bow to tobacco industry influence.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the groups expressed concern over what they described as the industry’s “renewed global campaign” to infiltrate COP11 discussions through proxies pushing for the legitimisation of e-cigarettes and other novel nicotine products under the guise of harm reduction.
They urged the government to reject all forms of industry-linked funding, partnerships, and influence, stressing that Nigerians will hold delegates accountable for any actions that jeopardise public health.
The advocates reminded delegates of Nigeria’s legal obligations under the National Tobacco Control Act, particularly Sections 25-28, 33-34, and 38(2), which prohibit official interactions with the tobacco industry.
They also cited Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which obliges all Parties to safeguard public health policies from commercial interference.
“We are aware that the tobacco industry and its front groups are working overtime to manipulate discussions at COP11, pushing narratives that normalise nicotine addiction,” the groups warned. “Nigeria must not be complicit in this devious strategy.”
According to them, novel nicotine products represent “the new faces of the same deadly business,” designed to hook a new generation while undermining existing tobacco control gains.
With tobacco killing more than seven million people globally each year, the CSOs urged Nigeria to demonstrate leadership by protecting young people and resisting attempts by multinational corporations to expand their markets across Africa.
“Nigeria’s delegates must go to Geneva to defend life, not profit,” they said.
COP11 runs from 17-22 November, bringing together 183 Parties to the Convention to advance global tobacco control.
This will be followed by the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) from 24-26 November, focusing on efforts to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products.
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