Nigeria’s tobacco control community has rejected the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major threat to public health and urging President Bola Tinubu to withhold assent if the legislation is transmitted to him.

In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the coalition called on the National Assembly to immediately withdraw the bill, arguing that instead of strengthening regulation, it weakens key provisions of the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, particularly those governing electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.

The groups warned that the proposed amendment would reopen avenues for tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship through adult publications, point-of-sale displays, online platforms and other channels.

They also opposed provisions allowing online sales, courier deliveries and promotional sampling of non-combustible tobacco products, saying Nigeria lacks the capacity to effectively enforce such measures.

The coalition further faulted the bill’s exclusion of heated tobacco products from the legal definition of tobacco products, insisting it contradicts the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which classifies them as tobacco products requiring full regulation.

It also raised concerns over weaker packaging and health warning requirements, smaller cigar pack sizes, and provisions allowing tobacco manufacturers to classify product information as trade secrets, thereby limiting public access to safety information.

Questioning how the bill was developed, the organisations said several contentious provisions were absent from the draft presented during the November 2024 public hearing.

They called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to clarify its position and urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and other regulators to review the proposed amendments.

The coalition maintained that all tobacco and nicotine products should remain under one strong regulatory framework and appealed to health professionals, civil society groups, development partners and the media to support efforts to preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s tobacco control law.

The statement was jointly signed by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation in Africa, Gatefield Impact, Nigerian Cancer Society, Youth Coalition Against Cancer, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre and several other health and civil society organisations.