The Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) has urged the National Assembly to reconsider proposed amendments to Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act 2015, warning that new “Tobacco Harm Reduction” provisions could weaken existing tobacco control measures.
In a statement on Sunday, ATIM said the proposed changes could create regulatory loopholes for emerging nicotine products and expose young people to increased risks of nicotine addiction.
The organisation said the harmonised Bill before the House of Representatives introduced “Tobacco Harm Reduction” as an objective and created separate provisions for non-combustible products, including electronic nicotine products and nicotine pouches.
ATIM said Nigeria should consolidate its progress in reducing smoking prevalence, estimated at about 5–6 per cent among adults, rather than introduce measures that could reverse those gains.
It urged the government to strengthen taxation, smoke-free policies, health warnings, advertising restrictions, cessation support and measures against illicit tobacco trade, while improving implementation of Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The group also called for transparency over how the new provisions entered the Bill, including disclosure of stakeholders involved, submissions received, industry-related meetings and the evidence used to develop the proposed framework.
ATIM said it had not established that the tobacco industry influenced the provisions but argued that their origin should be publicly explained given the growing commercial importance of new nicotine products.
The organisation urged the National Assembly to ensure that any amendment strengthens Nigeria’s public health protections and remains aligned with the WHO FCTC.
The call follows a similar demand by CAPPA, the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Gatefield Impact, the Nigerian Cancer Society, the Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja, and other tobacco control groups for the withdrawal of the Bill.
