Tobacco and Poverty in Nigeria

[Nuruddeen]

PROPOSAL FOR RESEARCH ON:

TOBACCO AND POVERTY IN NIGERIA
By
Jibo Nura
Date: 13th June 2007

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
   In Nigeria, tobacco is one of the most commonly used addictive substance that contains several chemicals, which are injurious to health. The most dangerous chemicals in tobacco are nicotine and carbonmonoxide. Nicotine has no medicinal property and is supposed to be marketed as an insecticide. Its alkaloid nature affects the central nervous system thereby causing dependency, because it is highly addictive. Carbonmonoxide is the same as gas that emanates from the cars exhaust. It easily combines with the haemoglobin in red blood cells and impairs its oxygen carrying capacity thereby causing difficulties in breathing. Carbonmonoxide combined with Nicotine predisposes the user to coronary thrombosis and stroke ( cerebrovascular accidents).
   The economic cost of tobacco consumption in Nigeria varies among people of low, middle and high-income earnings. Even though, the poor is affected the most, but the rich also cry, because of the way their young and underaged children are lured into smoking through sophisticated advertising, pop cencert and promotion of cigarettes sales and marketing by the tobacco companies (Osinbajo, 2007).
   For the Nigerian poor, who lives on less than one dollar a day, money spent on tobacco is money not spent on basic necessities such as food, shelter, education and health.
   While many individuals at household, national and international levels see tobacco users at much higher risk of falling ill and dying prematurely of cancers, heart attacks, respiratory diseases and tobacco related illnesses that deprive families of much – needed income, productivity and imposing additional health care costs, the tobacco smokers see it as a means of alleviating stress, and discomfort because it keeps them moving!
   Therefore, the relationship between tobacco and poverty in Nigeria is inextricable. A survey conducted in Cross River state by the United States Centre for Disease Control shows that 45% of the young surveyed think boys who smoke and  28% think girls who smoke have more friends. Again, 17% think boys who smoke and 16% think girls who smoke, look more attractive. The smoking prevalence in the general population in Nigeria according to a 1990 survey of 1,270 adult, showed that as many as 24% of men and 7% of women smoke cigarettes on a daily basis. The adult population reportedly increased its consumption by as much as 32% from what it was in 1970.
   The 1991 statistics showed that about 4.14 million Nigerians were smoking, 11% of who were heavy are those who were heavy smokers. Heavy smokers are those who smoke above 10 and above sticks a day ( Mike, 2007:1 ). Another survey in 1998 suggests that there may have been a decline ( 15% of men and 2% of women), the possibility of the actual current prevalence being higher cannot be ruled out, due to the fact that there are several millions of tobacco smokers in Nigeria that their number is yet to be determined. This situation is largely because many cigarettes consumed in Nigeria today are smuggled into the country.
   It has been estimated that a third of all internationally exported cigarettes are diverted into black market and sold at lower prices, leading to an increased volume of sales and consumption.
   From the macroeconomic perspective, tobacco use affect the Nigerian economy and government's development progress. It generates significant economic activity where government desperately collects more revenue from the tobacco companies, because of its inability to generate employment. Indeed, the government do not simply want to take action that would jeopardize its revenues and employment level ( Ayda, 2006:1).
   At the national level, however, some state governments such as Lagos, Kano and Gombe, are seriously disturbed by the manner in which the tobacco multinational companies are surreptitously and fraudulently targeting young and underaged persons in tobacco advertising and marketing. These states have recently filed an action at the state high courts against the British American Tobacco ( BAT) companies.
   In their suit, the states seek to recover health – care costs expended by treating tobacco – related diseases, because the BAT has itself admitted that tobacco smoking has severe health implications that cause cardiovascular and pulmonary complications.
   At the grassroot level, many tobacco farmers, rather than growing rich from the crop, often find themseleves in debt to tobacco companies. For decades, the BAT has encouraged Nigerian peasant farmers to grow tobacco, claiming that it will bring them prosperity. The BAT through its subsidiaries, Iseyin agronomy, provides direct support to some 1, 306 farmers under its roster. These farmers are used by the company to produce tobacco from 1,260 tons in 2001 to 2, 230 in 2004 valued at
N 320.6 million and  2, 945 tons in 2006 valued at N 568.04 million. Domestic tobacco inclusion is currently 40% in the Value For Money(VFM) segment of the BAT in Nigeria ( Aliyu, 2006:1).This has created a situation where more and more farmers are competing to sell tobacco to the companies for lower and lower prices. While some large – scale tobacco farmers have undoubtedly become wealthy, many Nigerian tobacco farmers are making a living producing a crop that is labour and input intensive, and brings with it a host of health and environmental dangers, from pesticide exposure to nicotine poisoning.
   Nonetheless, the use of child labour in the tobacco fields is common practice in Nigeria. Children from  poor families who depend on tobacco, work on tobacco farms from a very early age, missing out vital educational opportunities, while making them vulnerable to increased risk of injury and illness such as green tobacco sickness ( GTS), which is caused by dermal absorption of nicotine from contact with wet tobacco leaves.
   Globally, tobacco importation and product consumption bring about foreign exchange losses. In 2002, two – thirds of 161 countries surveyed imported more tobacco leaf and tobacco products than they exported. There were 19 countries that had a negative balance of trade in tobacco products of over US $ 100 million or more, including Cambodia, Malaysia, Romania, Vietnam, Republic of Korea and Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organisation ( WHO) studies, 1.3 billion people smoke cigarettes worldwide, with half of this number liable to dying of smoking it eventually. It is indeed, the second major cause of mortality in the world. Scholars have  asserted that if current smoking patterns continue, tobacco will kill some 10 million worldwide each year by 2020, with 70% of these deaths occuring in the developing countries.
Today, one in every 10 adults worldwide is killed by tobacco, adding upto an estimated 5 million every year.
   Therefore, it has become imperative for Nigerian government to know that million of its people, especially the poor are dying gradually due to tobacco epidemic. And the only attempt to control this was in 1990 when the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) tried to ban smoking in public places i.e based on section 2 and 3 of the tobacco smoking (control) Decree No. 20, which stipulates that :

*No person shall advertise tobacco products to the general public in a bid to encourage tobacco smoking through any of the specified schedule.

*No tobacco industry shall sponsor or promote any of its products at or through sport events.

*Packaging must contain health warnings.

   Interestingly, the first legal instrument designed to reduce tobacco related deaths and disease around the world was initiated in 2003 by the WHO tagged " Framework Convention on Tobacco Control ( FCTC). Many of the affected countries in the developing world including Nigeria, are expected to ratify this legal instrument in the very near future.

For Nigeria, there is a need for renewed focus for global patnership to incorporate tobacco control policy into global development initiatives such as the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). There are some very cardinal characteristics of MDGs which require two way compact of mutual obligation, interelation and interdependence. There are certain opportunity costs of tobacco that are not fully recognised by the MDGs. There are also macro economic costs of tobacco such as thousand metres of hectares of  arable land under tobacco cultivation, which could be used to feed many more million Nigerians.

Jibo Nura wrote in from Zaria, Nigeria. Contact Nura at: jibonura@yahoo.com

[Dan-Borno]

The journalist kenan, what a lengthy write up, i must
confess that I didnt read from top to bottom, however
from what i grab here and there in the write up, its all
about tobacco consumptions, dangers posed to those
consuming it and possible ways to prevent or rather
reduce its accessibility by using stringent measures
from the government.

Thats right malam jibo, when you look at our society
these days, you will find out that those who consume
cigarretes are mostly low income earners without the
adequate dietery supplement to fight those dangerous
agents found in cigarretes as mentioned in the above
post.

The worst scenario i always hate to see in my life is
seeing an underage person taking cigarrette (which
comprises of marijuana, yarmu, lofe or what ever name
used)

This is where the government should act strictly,
especially in the area of enlightenment, because that
is the only silent but effective tool fighting against
illiteracy.