Group tasks FG to increase tax on cigarette, shisha
By Matthew Denis, Abuja
A Nigerian Tobacco control advocate has appealed to the Federal Government to raise the tax collected on all tobacco products and earmark a percentage of these for tobacco control activities across the country.
This advice was given during a press conference organised by Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NATCA) in Abuja on Thursday.
The group argued that when the government raises the tax imposed on the companies that are producing tobacco it will automatically increase the selling price of the product which will not be affordable by the consumers thereby reducing the sickness surrounding it.
Speaking at a press briefing the Chairman of NATCA, Akinbode Oluwafemi said “Thousands of Nigerians die every year as a result of tobacco use. There are necessary policies that the government must carry out to be able to implement and enforce the law.”
He said the problem had been the lack of enough budgetary allocation to the ministry of health to carry out these activities.
He stressed that the government can benefit directly from tobacco tax increase noting that Increased revenue can pay for tobacco control interventions, combating infectious diseases.
The Chairman said, “We commend the N10 million allocation for the local tobacco control efforts in the 2024 National Budget as a slight improvement compared to the N4.7 millions allocated in the 2023 budget.
“Though, it must be emphasised that this amount still falls below expectations because we know that while it looks like the figure has gone up there is almost no difference from last year’s allocation when Nigeria’s hyper inflation is considered.
“We have stated that limited funding hinders the comprehensive implementation of measures outlined in the National Tobacco Control Act which are designed to tightly regulate tobacco products and use in the country and ultimately reduce the burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases in the country. “
Mr. Oluwafemi explained that critical concerns are whether the funds previously budgeted were released into the fund account or not.
He said, “it is imperative to remind the Federal government that the National Tobacco Control Act stipulates that funds allocated for tobacco control in the National Budget and other sources are to be remitted into the account for utilisation.
“We strongly desire that this is complied with and call on the ministry of health to provide an update on the status of the Tobacco Control fund thereby specifically detailing the current balance, sources of the monies and expenditures.
“We also raise concern whether all the tobacco companies have been paying for operating licenses after gaining approval to operate in Nigeria.”
According to him, allowing tobacco companies to operate without licenses poses health hazards and is detrimental to the revenue it generates.
The Chairman urged the Federal government to consider earmarking tobacco tax as a dedicated source of financing tobacco control enforcement measures in the country.
