By Blessing Bature
Federal Ministry of Health has blamed the ongoing food crisis in the country to Tobacco cultivation and harped for alternative crop production, marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage these farmers to grow sustainable, nutritious crops.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Engr. Olufunsho Adebiyi disclosed this in a press briefing to mark the 2023 World No Tobacco Day, in Abuja.
He said, the 2023 World No Tobacco Day tagged “We Need Food: Not Tobacco” is the day designated for both local, national and global communities to raise awareness on the harmful effect of tobacco use, exposure to tobacco smoke and other debilitating effects associated with tobacco, the debilitating health effect of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke as well as what government is doing to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the damages they cause.
The Permanent Secretary informed that, the theme for this year’s campaign which is, “We Need Food, Not Tobacco” seeks to raise awareness about alternative crop production, marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage these farmers to grow sustainable, nutritious crops.
He further added that the day also aims to expose the tobacco industry’s efforts which are known to contribute to the global food crisis through interference with the government’s laudable policies that are geared at promoting viable, profitable and sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing.
“In Nigeria, the 2012 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), showed that 5.6% (4.5 million) Nigerians 15 years and older were currently using tobacco products of which 3.9% (3.1 million) were current smokers. With regards to tobacco-related mortality in Nigeria, the Tobacco Atlas 6th edition estimates that more than 26.800 annual deaths occur in the country from tobacco-related diseases. Also, a 2021 study by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa. reported that annually. 29.472 deaths in Nigeria were attributable to smoking”.
“The World No Tobacco Day provides government with yet another opportunity to inform the general public about what it is doing to safeguard the lives of Nigerians and residents of Nigeria from the debilitating health effect of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke as well as what government is doing to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the damages they cause”.
He said although Nigeria is not a major producer of tobacco leaf in the world, the 2022 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization show that in the African Region, Nigeria ranks 9th position with an estimated 9,150 hectares of land used for tobacco farming.
Adebiyi also disclosed that the reported tobacco-farming states in Nigeria were Osun, Oyo, Kwara, and Sokoto States while, the top 8 leading tobacco-growing countries in Africa are Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zambia.
On her part, the Director, Department of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health,
Dr. Alex Okoh said, this year’s global campaign specifically aims to raise public awareness on the need to embrace the cultivation of sustainable and nutritious crops in place of tobacco.
She added that the 2023 campaign also sought to discourage governments at all levels from providing incentives and subsidies for tobacco cultivation but rather to plough back these subsidies to support farmers to switch to more sustainable crops that improve food security.
Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Walter Moulombo said, apart from tobacco harming health, tobacco growing, and production worsens food insecurity, contributing to the global food crisis in various ways.
