A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has urged Nigeria’s delegation to the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to prioritise public health over tobacco industry interests.
The CSOs working in tobacco control, in a joint statement yesterday, warned the delegate not to sell out Nigeria’s public health to tobacco industry.
The group includes Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Gate field, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development They cautioned against yielding to the influence of the tobacco industry and its allies.
“We call on Nigerian delegates to stand firm with the global public health community, resist any form of industry influence, and support decisions that advance a tobacco-free future,” the CSOs said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that COP 11 to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) will kick off on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.
The WHO FCTC is the world’s coordinated response to the tobacco epidemic, while the Conference of the Parties serves as its governing body, comprising all Parties to the Convention.
Currently, there are 183 Parties, covering more than 90 per cent of the world’s population. The group and other public health advocates raised the alarm over the tobacco industry’s renewed global campaign to infiltrate COP 11 discussions through proxies.
This in a bid to sway delegates into supporting the introduction and legitimisation of nicotine-based and other novel products, including e-cigarettes, under the guise of harm reduction.
They also demanded that the Nigerian government and its delegates reject all tobacco industry-linked funding, partnerships, and influence.
The advocates said they were watching closely as global negotiations begin, stressing that Nigerians would hold the delegates fully accountable for any action that undermined the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction.
