Smoking in Nigeria

Smoking in Nigeria is prohibited in public places. It is punishable by a fine of not less than 50,000 nor exceeding 100,000.00 naira, or by imprisonment to a term of not less than 10 years or your lifetime , or by both a fine and imprisonment.^[1][2]

In Nigeria, anti-tobacco communities are at the forefront of ensuring smoke-free public places. Over 40 civil society groups, legal practitioners, and public health advocates stormed the Senate Hearing Room of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on July 21 and 22 to present their memorandum in support of the National Tobacco Control Bill, NTCB 2009.^[3]

The Nigeria National Tobacco Control Bill ^[4] is a comprehensive law which when passed will regulate the manufacturing, advertising distribution, and consumption of tobacco products in Nigeria.

It is a bill that is aimed at domesticating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) because Nigeria is a party to that international convention. Nigeria signed the WHO FCTC in 2004 and ratified it in 2005. It enacted the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA Act) 2015 to accommodate the provisions of the WHO FCTC.^[5]

The key highlights of the bill are the prohibition of smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars, public transportation, schools, and hospitals. It also invokes a ban on all forms of direct and indirect tobacco advertising, prohibition of sales of cigarettes within a 1000 meter radius of designated non-smoking areas, and the formation of a committee that will guide the government on the issue of tobacco control in the country.