The African Tobacco Control Alliance, or ATCA, has applauded Nigeria for enacting “historic” new laws that forbid the country’s media and entertainment sectors from glorifying tobacco use and its products.
Leonce Dieudonne Sessou, the Executive Secretary of the ATCA, praised the legislation in a statement released yesterday. He stated that it was the first in Africa and the second globally, after India, to be issued by the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) on May 21, 2024.
The World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) parties adopted new measures in Panama City in February 2024 to address tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship across international borders as well as tobacco depictions in entertainment media. The body noted that these measures were also in line with the new measures.
“We support the recommendations, titled ‘Prohibition of Money Ritual, Ritual Killing, Tobacco, Tobacco Product, Nicotine Product Promotion, Glamorization, Display in Movies, Musical Videos, and Skits’ Regulations 2024,” stated Sessou in support of the regulations.