The Bauchi State Government in partnership with the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) have intensified efforts to domesticate the national tobacco control act to save millions of Nigerians from health hazards associated with the harmful substance.

The Centre, during a one-day technical meeting on developing Bauchi State Tobacco Control framework, trained stakeholders in relevant ministries, departments and agencies, highlighted the economic losses, environmental and health hazards and reasons the government should develop a legislation to control access to the substance.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) urged the state to develop a legal framework to outlaw unhindered access to tobacco products sales.

Presenting a paper on the tobacco control, Solomon Adogum, a technical official from CISLAC, citing a World Health Organisation’s data, said that more than 25,000 children (10-14 years old) and 7,488,000 young adults (15+ years old) continue to use tobacco each day in Nigeria.

“More than 7,086,300 men smoke cigarettes each day while over 402,600 women who smoke cigarettes each day in Nigeria. 1,965,600 people still currently use smokeless tobacco. Nigeria records 28,876 tobacco smoking related deaths annually,” he said.

Giving the health consequences, Adogum said Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable death and diseasc worldwide. “Its health impacts are severe and far-reaching.”

According to him, tobacco has been associated non-communicable diseases (CDs). “Tobacco is a major risk factor for lung cancer (over 85% of cases are tobacco-related. Chronic respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It also causes cardiovascular diseases (heart attack and stroke.

“It is associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, pancreas, bladder, and more,” he said.

He explained that secondhand smoke exposure causes approximately 1.2 million premature deaths globally each year. He said that the substance increases risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory infections and asthma in children.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Housing and Environment, Hon. Danlami Kawule, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Yamai Muhammad, lamented the negative impacts of tobacco products on environment, pledging to push for the legislative framework to control the use of the substance.

He said that the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed is committed to safeguarding environment and lives of the public and would give necessary support to achieve the domestication of the legislation.

The Centre trained officials from the ministries of budget, economic and multilateral coordination, health, housing and environment, youths and sports and others.