The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday, struck out a suit filed by the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), against the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). DAILY POST reports that BATN had asked the court to prevent FCCPC from investigating it for anti-consumer protection, public health and anti-competition violations that the...
Cigarette prices have decreased sharply from their highly inflated levels during the sales ban, but are substantially higher than their pre-lockdown levels. The average retail price of cigarette brands produced by the multinationals is nearly 5% higher than before the sales ban, while the average retail price produced by the local manufacturers is 30%...
Mambury Njie, Minister Finance and Economic Affairs, has disclosed that the tax exercise on tobacco products is expected to increase to 70 percent of the retail price. “In line with the country’s commitment under the World Health Organization (WHO) frame work on convention tobacco control, the ECOWAS directive on tobacco product in the Gambia and...
The National Tobacco Control Committee has pledged to enforce the National Tobacco Control Act and Regulations to discourage Nigerian youths from smoking at early age. NAN recalls that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had on Wednesday inaugurated the committee to implement the new gazetted 2019 National Tobacco Control Act and Regulations. Okoeguale, a former...
In malls, colourful e-cigarette kiosks are in plain sight of children. The sleek and youthful designs capitalise on the world’s move towards gadgets and technology. Youth-friendly flavours such as ‘gummy bear’ create a perception that these products are safe. A crucial part of tobacco control policy is stopping young people from starting to use tobacco...
Public health experts were alarmed by September's news that Ghana's Revenue Authority (GRA) had inked a major five-year contract with British security printing company, De La Rue. The tender aimed to create a track-and-trace tax stamp system to combat the lucrative illicit tobacco trade, which costs governments around the world an estimated $40 billion...
The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), has expressed concern about the continuous tobacco industry interference in public health policies in Ghana and urged the government to improve transparency in its engagement with the industry. It said in a recent global tobacco industry interferences index ranking report, Ghana scored 58 while Uganda, Peru and the United...
By ELIZABETH MBUGUA AND CELINE AWUOR In response to the global tobacco control efforts to fight the prevalence of tobacco use, which results in more than 8 million deaths annually, the tobacco industry is now pushing the agenda of introducing “less harmful” products. One such product that was introduced in 2019 by British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya...
