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Monday, 25th March,
2002
LAGOS—CIGARETTE smokers who display their habit in
public places may be clamped into prison for five years on
conviction in addition to a fine of N20,000 under a new law as
Nigeria takes stern measures to curtail indiscriminate puffing
and advertisement.
In what seems to be a decisive and far-reaching step in
sharp contrast to past cosmetic actions to discourage smoking
which kills millions of people every year globally, the House
of Representatives has passed a bill banning the advertisement
of tobacco on billboards, electronic and print media. The bill
prohibits smoking in public places such as cinema houses,
stadia, offices, public transportation, elevators, medical
establishments, schools and nursery institutions.
Any person found guilty of smoking in these places will be
liable to a fine of N20,000 or five years improvement or
both.
"In the case of corporate body found guilty, it will be
liable to a fine of N500,000", according to the bill, adding
that individual vendors of tobacco products or advertisers who
run foul of the law will be liable to a fine of N20,000.
Where the offence is committed by a corporate body or firm,
every director, manager, secretary or other similar officer
will be liable on conviction to a fine of N100,000 or three
years improvement or both’’.
While the house is awaiting a similar passage by the Senate
before the bill is dispatched to President Olusegun Obasanjo
for his assent, manufacturers are apparently grouping for
other strategies to advertise their products. A public outing
of one of the cigarette manufacturers held on Victoria Island
in Lagos at the weekend.
It is also not clear whether the ban on advertising will
include the display of brand names on kiosks donated to small
scale vendors by manufacturers to promote sales.
With a robust tobacco industry supported by aggressive
advertising blitz involving the best media establishments
money can buy, potential smokers are daily lured to imbibe the
habit at the expense of their health.
Palliatives to curb incidence of the growing habit have not
had any far-reaching results. In the early 90s, the federal
government banned smoking in public places, but the directive
was never enforced. It was only in 1999 that the Advertising
Practitioners Council of Nigeria, a government agency,
compelled manufacturers to inscribe "smokers are liable to die
young" on cigarette packs and on ads. It recommended that only
adults could be used as models in tobacco ads. Pregnant women
must not be used nor sports men and women. Tobacco commercials
must not be broadcast during religious, sports or children’s
programmes nor could they be broadcast before 6 p.m. in the
radio and 9.45 p.m. on the television.
Good as the entente may be, the strict enforcement of the
law will only differentiate it from the past measures.
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