FG orders Police, others to clamp down on Shisha smokers

The Federal Government has instructed Police authorities and other security agencies to enforce ban on consumption of Shisha and other tobacco flavoured products.

 This  was disclosed by Professor Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health on Monday during a press conference to commemorate the 2018 world No - Tobacco Day, in Abuja.

The “World No Tobacco Day” is celebrated annually on May 31. The theme of the 2018 World -No-Tobacco Day is “Tobacco and Heart Disease.”

Shisha is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavoured tobacco is coated with foil and heated with charcoal. The tobacco fume travels through a water cavity and is inhaled leisurely.

The Minister revealed that over 20 billion sticks of cigarettes are consumed annually in Nigeria, adding that the consumption of this harmful product is prevalent among the youths.

Professor Adewole said, “4.5 million adults currently use tobacco products, while about 82 per cent of people who visit bars and nightclubs are exposed to second-hand smoke.

“Let me stress that the ban on tobacco products with characterising flavours is still in place and the ban includes shisha because it has flavour. I, therefore, urge the Consumer Protection Council ( CPC)  and the law enforcement agencies to intensify arrest of defaulters.

“In 2015, the country’s projected accumulated loss to tobacco was put at $7.6 billion. It is estimated that Nigeria losses $800 million annually to stroke, heart disease and diabetes.

“The tobacco use is responsible for huge economic losses emanating from both direct and indirect medical costs.

 “Therefore, for every $1 gained from tobacco business, about $3 is expended on healthcare cost. The tobacco industry makes huge profit without taking responsibility for the harm they do to public health,” Professor Adewole said.

The Director - General of the CPC, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, said a committee had been set up to look into the issue of Shisha and other matters, adding their the committee will make further recommendations on their findings.

He disclosed that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has developed a new national industrial standard, for tobacco consumption, in order to ascertain the right standard for Shisha and other tobacco products.

Wondi Alemu, World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, who was also at the event disclosed that  tobacco control is one of the most effective means to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which target, by 2030, premature deaths from non-communicable diseases.

He noted that an average tobacco users lose 15years of life. In the African Region, about 146,000 adults, aged 30 years and above, die every year from tobacco related diseases. He charged that the ban on tobacco consumption will help to prevent millions of people dying from non-communicable diseases.