ONE BILLION – this
is the number of innocent souls tobacco will kill worldwide this century if
urgent and drastic action is not put in place to stop this dilemma. Everyone
knows by now that it is one of the most easily preventable causes of death, and
yet some leaders and citizens will prefer to fold their hands and do nothing.
In the United States alone, tobacco kills 443,000 people
every year. Such huge numbers can seem daunting and farfetched but we should
never lose sight of the fact that these numbers represent real people whose
lives are devastated by tobacco –mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends
and colleagues. We should not also forget that most of these smokers picked up
this horrible habit at a very young and vulnerable age, lured by the predatory
marketing of the tobacco industry.
There is no questioning whether Nigerians have awaken
to challenge this situation and aim to win the fight against tobacco – the
world’s number one cause of preventable death. A notable success in this regard
is the approval of the draft National Tobacco Control Bill by the National
Executive Council and submission to the National Assembly but we cannot rest on
our oars and take this progress for granted. We must be as relentless and
resourceful in working to save lives as the tobacco industry is in promoting
its deadly and addictive products.
Cigarettes are not just the world’s
number one cause of preventable death; they’re also a major cause of air, land
and water pollution. In fact, butts are the number one littered item on
highways, beaches and waterways worldwide. Cigarettes kill and secondhand smoke
produces harmful air pollution. Despite the clear environmental damage
cigarettes cause, some tobacco companies advertise their cigarettes as
“natural,” “100% additive-free,” “organic” and even “eco-friendly.”
Nigeria once again has the
opportunity to stand up to Big Tobacco and make sure that corporate interests
don’t trump the health of its people. It’s time for members of the National
Assembly to re-evaluate their priorities. Do they want to be on the side
of an industry that lies to the public and promotes a product that kills? If they
are truly committed to saving lives and representing the interests of the
public, they must not only reject any form of comradeship with Big Tobacco but
must also support the swift passage of Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Bill
and vote overwhelmingly in its favor.
Our lawmakers should not be
lured by the corporate social responsibility schemes of the tobacco industry
which they so often use to gloss over the industry’s tarnished reputation
and undermine public health policymaking. Lawsuits filed in the United States
in the 1990s had revealed that Big Tobacco lied to the public, manipulated policy,
bullied governments around the world in order to protect its profits and paid
executives and PR firms to develop a strategy to distract the public from the
industry’s history of deception. Lawmakers should not be swayed by this ‘show
of corporate responsibility’ but ask themselves if a company that manufactures
a product that will kill one billion people in this century should be
considered responsible and assured a limitedly restrictive environment to
operate in Nigeria.
To
support the campaign for passage of a comprehensive National Tobacco Control
bill, you can join Fela Durotoye and Stella Damasus to share information
on Tobacco Control issues by signing up to become a cause champion. Together we
can protect the present and future generations from this preventable death. To
become a cause champion, simply send your 1) Name 2) Email 3) Telephone No and
4) your location to info@socialresponsibilitymanagers.org
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- For more facts and Tobacco Control tips visit www.tobaccoctrl.ng
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