A senior medical practitioner, Dr Leo Odudu, has said the government’s sponsorship of campaigns in local languages will help to tackle the tobacco menace.

Mr Odudu, the Medical Director, Emel Hospital, FESTAC, Lagos, spoke during an interview in Lagos on Friday.

He spoke ahead of the  World No Tobacco Day, observed annually on May 31.

The World No Tobacco Day was established in 1987 by the World Health Organisation to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and to promote effective control measures.

The 2026 theme, “Unmasking the Appeal – Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” focuses on exposing how tobacco and nicotine industries use flavoured products, digital marketing and lifestyle branding to attract young people and sustain addiction.

The campaign also highlights the need to protect vulnerable groups, particularly women, girls and youths, from targeted marketing and misleading “harm reduction” narratives.

Mr Odudu said that the most significant challenges in tackling the tobacco menace were lack of proper education of the public on the dangers of tobacco use and its addictive tendency.

He stated that poor literacy level of the general population was being exploited.

“Statistics show that tobacco use in various forms is more among the uneducated rural populace. This group have other factors like malnutrition and poor access to health care that compound the harmful effect of tobacco condition.

“Government is only seeing the economic side and ignoring the health consequences. Inscribing on packets of cigarettes that smokers are likely to die young is not enough deterrent as the heavy smokers don’t buy in packets,” he said.

Mr Odudu noted that despite health physicians’ engagement in public campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use, more efforts were needed to tackle the scourge.

He advocated continuous education of the populace, economic enhancement of the citizens and engagement of institutions such as churches, mosques, market women and social clubs, in the campaign process.

According to Mr Odudu, government should also implement policy against tobacco use and abuse, and sponsor anti-tobacco campaigns in the local languages.

He advised that the government should make it strict to establish tobacco industries and that good border control restriction should also be considered to prevent restricted substances into the country.

 (NAN)