The Nigerian tobacco-control community has rejected the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, calling it a “catastrophic reversal” of public-health gains and demanding its immediate withdrawal.
In a joint statement issued Thursday, August 6, 2026, 13 organisations said the bill weakens protections in the 2015 Act and creates a commercially permissive regime for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other non-combustible products.
The coalition, led by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, NTCA, and CAPPA, urged relevant National Assembly committees to withdraw the bill and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold assent if it gets to him.
They argued that while the 2015 Act was built on restricting advertising, promotion, sponsorship and sales, the amendment reverses that by granting newer products freedoms denied to cigarettes.
The groups listed several concerns:
Legal Contradiction: The bill defines heated tobacco products as non-combustible, then excludes all non-combustible products from the definition of “tobacco products.”
“The legal effect is that a product containing actual tobacco would cease to be treated as a tobacco product merely because it is heated rather than burned,” the statement said. This, they said, contradicts WHO FCTC guidelines.
Advertising and Online Sales: The bill reopens tobacco advertising through “adult publications” where only 50% of readers must be 18+. The coalition cited UNICEF data showing 43% of Nigerians are 15 or younger, and NCC data showing 93% of children aged 11-16 access the internet via their own phones.
It also authorises online purchases, courier delivery, retail display and sampling of vaping products.
Weakened Packaging and Penalties: Cigars could be sold in packs of 5 instead of 20. Nicotine pouches would carry only text warnings covering 10% of the front. Vaping and heating devices would be exempt from health warnings. Penalty language from the 2015 Act is also deleted.
Secrecy and Executive Powers: Companies can designate product information as “trade secrets” which the Minister of Health must keep secret. The Minister is also given broad power to exempt non-combustible products on “public interest” grounds.
The coalition demanded full disclosure of all bill versions, committee reports, public hearing records and voting records. They questioned whether the expanded consolidated bill had undergone meaningful public consultation.
They urged the Federal Ministry of Health, the Attorney-General, regulators and the National Tobacco Control Committee to clarify their positions.
If the Ministry cleared the bill, it must explain how it aligns with Nigeria’s treaty obligations.
“Should the bill reach President Tinubu, the coalition said he must withhold assent and return it with firm objections. ‘Renewed hope for the tobacco and nicotine industry cannot advance the Presidency’s Renewed Hope agenda for Nigerians,’” the statement read.
The groups maintained that all tobacco and nicotine products must be regulated under one strong, product-neutral framework with bans on advertising, promotion, display and remote sales.
The signatories included: NTCA, CAPPA, Gatefield Impact, Youth Coalition Against Cancer, Nigerian Cancer Society, Call Off Cancer Initiative, Association of Resident Doctors Abuja, Oncology Nursing Society of Nigeria, CISLAC, and others.
source: Naijanewsbreak
