Reps begin process of regulating tobacco usage

The House of Representatives committee on health, yesterday, held a public hearing on a bill seeking to regulate the use of tobacco in the country.

At the public hearing during which 11 bills were considered, Chairman of the Committee Rep Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) said the bill would seek to regulate the production, promotion, advertising and packaging of the product without banning smoking in the country.

Similarly, Chairman House Committee on Justice who co-chaired the hearing said contrary to speculations in some quarters, the bill will not seek to ban tobacco smoking in the country.

He said the parliament had no power to ban tobacco smoking but has the responsibility to protect the rights of the citizens, including children, who are likely to be exposed to the hazards of unregulated smoking regime.

“Nigeria is lacking behind in the framework of tobacco regulation. About 10 million Nigerians are currently at risk,” he said, adding that there was serious need for tobacco smoking in Nigeria to be regulated.

Most stakeholders at the hearing endorsed the provisions of the bill with a view to mitigating its hazards.

However, some stakeholders cautioned against excessive tobacco regulation which, they noted, could lead to unintended consequences.

Olusegun Sotola of the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis said passing the bill as it is would infringe on the fundamental rights of smoker and could also affect the economic power of those citizens in the nation’s supply and demand chains of the product.