Two civil society organisations, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre and Tax Justice Network Africa have asked the federal government to increase excise tax on all tobacco products by 75% in line with the recommendation of the World Health Organisation .
At the workshop, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani lamented devastative effect of tobacco consumption on public health, disclosing that Nigeria “is the third biggest tobacco market in Africa.” Apart from accounting for the major cause of preventable deaths, according to him, cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in Nigeria. And about 87% of lung cancer death is accredited to cigarette smoking.
He said tobacco taxation “is one of the policy measures that has gained top recognition in Nigeria given that it is widely credited as the most effective tool to reduce tobacco consumption. Previously, only 20% ad valorem excise tax was levied on an average pack of cigarettes sold for N183 in 2017.” The executive director said: “While the tobacco companies make profits, they do so at the detriment of public health as tobacco smoking is a well-established behavioural risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
“The objective of Article 6 is simple. It seeks to make tobacco products less affordable especially to low-income earners, children and youth as a means of reducing consumption and initiation. The convention recognizes this measure as an effective tobacco control tool.”