Abuja, 3 June, 2024 - Bassey Effiong, 42, started smoking as a teenager thinking “it was cool”. “I thought it showed you were in charge and independent. I was influenced by people who smoked in my neighbourhood, in movies, and in music videos, he says. 

Now as a medical practitioner who has better knowledge of the harm smoking does to health, he says “ I wish I never took the first drag”. 
Smoking is harmful to the smoker and those who inhale the smoke. It also has a negative effect on the spending behaviour of an addicted smoker as they would rather spend their last money buying a stick of cigarette than on anything else

Smoking is addictive and requires deliberate effort to stop it. My advice is don’t start at all,” he says. 

Mr Effiong says he is making an effort to stop smoking and has not smoked in 235 days. 

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing over 8 million people a year around the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

To draw attention to the harm caused by tobacco use, WHO and its partners commemorate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) on 31 May every Year.

Call for action
Joining the Federal Ministry of Health to commemorate 2024 WNTD, WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, in his welcome remark says “WHO has supported Nigeria in putting in place the National Tobacco Control Act and its regulation which contains several provisions to reduce the availability, accessibility, and affordability of tobacco and tobacco products, especially among adolescents and young adults.

I urge the government to fast-track the full implementation of the act to protect current and future generations from the harm of tobacco. WHO and the National Bureau of Statistics are supporting the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to conduct the second round of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey. This survey when completed will provide up-to-date nationally representative data on tobacco use in the country”, he adds.

In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, FMOH. Ms Kachullom Daju says “ While the challenges posed by tobacco industry interference are formidable, are by no means insurmountable 

Ms Daju who represented the Coordinating Minster of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammed Pate adds that the government is embarking on several strategies with partners in combatting the menace posed by tobacco, and Nigeria has made several giant strides,
In parallel this year, two out of three recipients of the 2024  World No Tobacco Day Awards from the WHO Africa region are Nigerians. The recipients are Ms Gormwa Gotus of Tobacco Abstinence Club and Tobacco Abstinence Club.

He also extended his congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 World No Tobacco Day Award in the African Region and Nigeria as a whole.
The award is given to exceptional individuals and organizations across WHO’s six regions in recognition of their work on tobacco control, especially among adolescents and young adults.   

Smoking epidemic 
A recent report “Hook the Next Generation” released by WHO and STOP shows that globally an estimated 37 million children aged 13–15 years use tobacco, and in many countries, the rate of e-cigarette use among adolescents exceeds that of adults.

This year's campaign focuses on “for youth, by youth strategy” where young people will be leading the charge in calling out the tobacco industry for its manipulative and deceptive tactics and revealing the true and devastating impact that the industry has on health, social justice, and the environment. 

A youth club in Nigeria is speaking up and raising awareness on the harm of using tobacco and its products, through advocacy, and sensitization campaigns among their peers, in schools, and public places. 

“Often during our campaigns, especially in schools, we hear the youth say ” I can quit anytime I want”. This is not true. The public needs to know that total abstinence is the only proven way to evade the dangers of tobacco use and that nicotine-driven addiction is not easy to cure, says Ajaefobi Chinonso Joshua, the president, Tobacco Free Club, University of Abuja.

He explains that an emerging threat among the youth is the use of shisha or e-cigarettes to substitute smoking tobacco due to the misconception that it is less harmful.

We partner with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working against tobacco to organize campaigns that advocate against tobacco use amongst youths during WNTD and other international health days like World Heart Day or World Lungs Day, he adds. 
The theme for 2024 “Protecting Children from tobacco industry interference” directs attention toward the trends of how tobacco industries target the youth to raise a new generation of smokers.