THE Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on the Federal Government to immediately increase the excise tax on tobacco products to 100 per cent to save thousands of lives.

It said the government could save at least N526 billion annually from healthcare costs and productivity losses if it yielded to the call.

CAPPA raised the concern in a statement on Thursday, August 7, by its media and communication officer, Robert Egbe.

It said the tobacco industry has continued to aggressively target Nigerians with traditional and novel smokeless tobacco products like vapes and other e-cigarettes, despite tobacco use being a major risk factor for costly, debilitating diseases.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) links tobacco use to premature death from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), birth defects, vision loss, gastrointestinal diseases, skin damage, weak bones and cardiovascular disease, among other NCDs,” CAPPA cited.

It further cited data from the Nigerian Tobacco Control Data Initiative as stating that  90 per cent of tobacco production happens in developing countries like Nigeria, which mostly bear the environmental costs of tobacco production, while rich countries make most of the profits from tobacco production.

“According to the federal government, Nigerians consumed over 20 billion sticks of cigarettes annually as of 2018, while almost 30,000 people die each year in the country from tobacco-related diseases,” it stated.

It stressed the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), analysis indicated that Nigeria spent N526.4 billion treating tobacco-related diseases in 2019.

CAPPA pointed out that Nigeria employs a mixed excise tax system on tobacco products, comprising an ad valorem tax of 30 per cent on the unit-cost-of-production or manufacture price, a specific excise tax of N84 per pack of 20 cigarettes which became effective on June 1, 2022.

It also involves a shisha/tobacco tax of N3,000 per litre or N1,000 per kg, rising by N500 annually.

Although the federal government proposed increasing the tax to 50 per cent in April 2023, this increase has not yet been implemented, and the current regime remains unchanged, CAPPA expressed concern.

It urged the government to align with global best practices and emulate African countries like Senegal, Kenya and South Africa that are taking tough measures against tobacco use to protect their youths from addiction, disease and financial ruin.

“In Nigeria, the tobacco industry is having a field day aggressively targeting young Nigerians with their novel products such as vapes and other e-cigarettes, which they know are not only addictive, but also harmful. Using their so-called ‘tobacco harm reduction strategy’, the tobacco industry continues to hoodwink the public that vapes, and other e-cigarettes, are harmful to human health, but good for consumption,” CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, lamented.

He warned that tobacco-related diseases strain Nigeria’s health systems, drain health budgets, reduce workforce productivity, and exacerbate poverty.

“What the tobacco industry is doing is grooming the next set of addicts to replace the thousands of Nigerians who die from tobacco-related diseases and the many others whose lives are destroyed. They must be stopped.

“We urge the government to act fast and raise the taxes on tobacco and related products to 100 per cent. This is a proven way to not only discourage tobacco and e-cigarette use, but also save billions in healthcare costs,” Oluwafemi added.

Similarly, the organisation urged the federal government to ring-fence part of the revenue for health promotion, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention, and full implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act.

It also advised governments at all levels to resist tobacco industry interference, which continues to undermine life-saving policies for profit.

CAPPA had recently raised concern on how the food and beverage industry uses a sophisticated web of marketing strategies to get Nigerians, especially children and young adults, hooked on ultra-processed, high-sugar, and high-sodium foods that cause noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including hypertension, obesity and diabetes, The ICIR reported.