Tobacco Accounts for 16% of Deaths in Nigeria—Experts

By Ahmed Rahma

The need to urgently address the rising cases of tobacco-related diseases among youths in Nigeria has been emphasised by experts in the health sectors.

They want the government to put stricter measures in place for the enforcement of tobacco regulations and inclusion of the anti-smoking campaign in school.

At the presentation of a two-year research study conducted by Centre for The Study of The Economies of Africa (CSEA), speakers at the event agreed that if actions are taken quickly, the younger generations would be discouraged from smoking.

Business Post reports that the study, which centred on the Health burden and economic cost of smoking in Nigeria, was conducted in collaboration with the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF).

In his presentation, the Commissioner for Health in Enugu State, Dr Emmanuel Obi, who was represented by Dr Ifeanyi Godwin, said the deaths associated with tobacco-related diseases were worrying.

This was corroborated by a Consultant Radiologist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Prof Ifeoma Okoye, said lamented that the high rate of lung cancer cases among the young population in the country was disturbing.

Presenting the report of the study, the Executive Director of CSEA, Dr Chukwuma Onyekwena, stated that Nigeria’s healthcare system spends about N526.5 billion yearly in treatment of smoking-attributable diseases, representing 9.63 per cent of the nation’s total healthcare budget.

He disclosed that from the research conducted, also relying on reports from various tertiary hospitals in the country, about 17 diseases are attributable to tobacco smoking.

Mr Onyekwena said an estimated 28,876 deaths yearly in Nigeria are attributable to smoking, representing about 16 per cent of deaths from smoking-related diseases, 183,883 and about five per cent of all cases of death.

He said among the diseases analysed, nearly 737,366 events are expected yearly, of which 127,859, representing 17 per cent are attributable to cigarette consumption.

He also explained that the research was inspired by the fact that the CSEA was always engaged in relevant issues that would touch on policy-making.

The founder and chairman of ACUF, Dr Chiwuike Uba, said a lot of studies had been conducted, but not on the economic implications of tobacco-smoking in Nigeria.

He concluded with their organisation would always take the campaign against smoking to all the nooks and crannies of the cities, as well as to the grassroots, where most of the young people who engage in smoking reside.