•Drops from 53 points in 2021 to 60 in 2023
By Juliet Umeh
A new report on the state of the tobacco industry interference in Nigeria has revealed a marked increase in the industries meddling in public health policies, especially tobacco control measures.
The report, produced by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, through the Centre for Good Governance, showed Nigeria’s ratings dropped from 53 points in 2021 to 60 in 2023.
Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, who disclosed this at a briefing in Lagos yesterday, said: “According to the report, the main deterioration is manifest in the Nigerian government’s challenges and failure to adhere to transparency mechanisms, and disclosure of exchanges with the Industry as mandated by the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and the National Tobacco Control Regulations 2019.
“These breaches, the report noted, are exploited maximally by the tobacco industry to interfere in public health policies and deliberations.
The report also flagged other areas of concern which include: The unnecessary and unhealthy interaction between the tobacco industry and public officials, mostly in the agriculture sector where top government officials have been documented in several instances, participating in the industry’s activities and openly lauding them.
“The tobacco industry’s use and loud celebration of its Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR activities in the media and on social platforms as a way of enhancing its image to attract unsuspecting individuals, thereby creating a perception of the industry and its products as responsible and desirable. These CSR initiatives are further promoted by the endorsement of state authorities, who associate and collaborate with the industry to execute socio-economic empowerment programmes.”
The post Nigeria slips in 2023 tobacco industry interference rating appeared first on Vanguard News.
