By Ihechi Enyinnaya
Nigeria has one of the leading tobacco markets on the continent, with over 18 billion cigarettes sold annually.
The World Health Organisation estimates that there were about 13 million smokers in Nigeria in 2012, with over 16,000 deaths attributable to smoking.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, (CISLAC), Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), represented by Senior Programme Officer, CISLAC, Solomon Adogah, disclosed this at a press conference in commemoration of the World No Tobacco Day 2024, held in Kano.
This year’s theme is, “Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference.”
According to World Health Organisation, “his yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations.
“The Member States of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes. In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed Resolution WHA40.38, calling for 7 April 1988 to be a “a world no-smoking day.” In 1988, Resolution WHA42.19 was passed, calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on 31 May.”