Nigeria records nearly 30,000 tobacco smoking-related deaths- Research
“Among the disease analysed, nearly 737,366 events are expected each year, of which 127,859 representing 17 per cent are attributable to cigarette consumption.”
An Abuja-based Centre for the Study of Economies of Africa (CSEA) has reported that a research it conducted had revealed that 28,876 deaths related to tobacco smoking are recorded annually in Nigeria.
Marco Castradori, a research associate with the CSEA, revealed this, on Monday, in Kano, at a report dissemination workshop on the health burden and economic cost of smoking in Nigeria.
According to Mr Castradori, the number represents around 16 per cent of deaths from smoking-related diseases and above five per cent of all cases of deaths.
“Among the disease analysed, nearly 737,366 events are expected each year, of which 127,859 representing 17 per cent are attributable to cigarette consumption.
“In terms of costs, these conditions burden the Nigerian healthcare system with nearly N634 billion, of which 526.4 billion, representing 83 per cent are smoking-attributable treatment costs.
“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents the top cause of smoking-attributable mortality with 29 per cent, followed by Ischemic heart disease with 17.5 per cent, stroke with 13 per cent.
“Other diseases include; passive smoking, 11.5 per cent, lower respiratory tract infection 11 per cent, and also cardiovascular deaths of non-ischemic cause 5.5 per cent,’’ he said.
He explained that smoking generates a direct annual treatment cost of N526.45 billion, which, he said, was equivalent to 0.36 per cent of the Nigerian GDP in 2019, and 9.63 per cent of the country’s annual healthcare spending.
