The Youth Action on Tobacco Control and Health (YATCH), an NGO, on Saturday urged the National Assembly to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill.
The NGO also appealed to the law makers to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan signed it into law.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Mr Seye Omiyefa, made the appeal in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos.
The statement was issued to commemorate the “World No Tobacco Day” (WNTD) which is marked every May 31.
“Law makers should support the passage of a comprehensive tobacco control bill to set a standard for a healthy nation and promote good health among Nigerians,” Omiyefa said.
He said that this year’s WNTD was focused on tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship.
According to him, tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship apply to all forms of commercial communication, recommendation or action.
“It is also all forms of contribution to any event, activity or individual with the aim, effect, or likely effect of promoting a tobacco product or tobacco use either directly or indirectly.
“Youths and students have been admonished not to fall for the indirect advertisements to entice and recruit more teenagers as smokers.
“However, provisions in the current National Tobacco Control Bill at the National Assembly involves ban on tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship,” he said.
Omiyefa said that Nigeria was at the risk of losing its workforce to cancer and tobacco related diseases due to increased rate in tobacco smoking.
He said that surveys which had been done by the organisation and other bodies revealed that many more school children were developing interest in smoking.
According to him, it is indeed telling us what the tobacco companies have done to the psyche of youths.
The director said that his organisation since inception had sensitised over 5,000 students in a bid to reduce the current upsurge of tobacco smoking in the society.
“Its positive effects on secondary school students are overwhelming.
“We have created over 25 school anti-tobacco clubs to constantly fight against the big tobacco companies and enroll youths as role models instead of smoke models,” he said. (NAN)
