NTCA Slams FG Over N28m Tobacco Control Budget, Demands N300m Annually

NSAN NDOMA-NEJI, Calabar 

The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has slammed the Federal Government over what it described as the chronic underfunding of tobacco control, revealing that only about N28 million was budgeted for the sector in three years.

Speaking with Journalists yesterday in Calabar, the Public Relations Officer of the NTCA, Mr Emmanuel Onwuka, said the allocation is a far cry from what is needed to implement the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and curb the rising burden of tobacco-related diseases.

Onwuka said figures showed that N4.7 million was allocated in 2023, N10 million in 2024 and N13 million in 2025, totalling about N28 million. 

He described the amount as "grossly inadequate" when compared to the estimated N526.4 billion Nigeria spent in 2019 alone treating tobacco-related illnesses, according to the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa.

He lamented that despite World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates indicating that over 3.5 million Nigerians use tobacco and about 16,100 die annually from tobacco-related diseases, the sector remains neglected.

"Enforcement of smoke-free laws, public awareness campaigns, cessation services, research and tobacco industry monitoring remained largely dependent on international donor funding," 

Onwuka said, naming Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the WHO as those sustaining the sector.

The NTCA spokesman warned that with declining global development funding, Nigeria risks a major public health setback and increased exposure to aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry.

To address the gap, he demanded that government increase annual funding for tobacco control to at least N300 million and establish sustainable financing through earmarked tobacco taxes.

Citing global best practices, he said Gabon allocates one per cent of tobacco tax revenues to tobacco control while Côte d'Ivoire dedicates special tobacco levies to health programmes.

 Quoting Dr Vetty Agala, Executive Secretary of the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme, he noted that "sustainable tobacco control financing depends on effective revenue generation, resource pooling and strategic purchasing of health interventions."

Onwuka said the proposed N300 million annual allocation being demanded by the NTCA, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is a practical investment that will ensure enforcement, public education, cessation services and research, while protecting lives and reducing the nation's healthcare costs.