The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has called on the federal government to initiate a law that will prosecute parents who send children on errands to buy tobacco-related products.

Doris John, director of the public health department, FCTA, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at a news conference to commemorate 2024 World No Tobacco Day, which is celebrated annually on May 31.

The director warned parents who smoked before their children to stop.

Ms John condemned the attitude of sending children to buy tobacco-related products and called for strict prosecution of such categories of parents.

She also advocated that schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) should form a “No Tobacco Club,” adding that it would help to reduce the menace of tobacco intake in the country.

“There are 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide, and tobacco use in whatever form or level is harmful and kills more than half of the users if taken as intended by the tobacco manufacturers.

“Tobacco kills around 8 million people every year (more than 7 million active smokers and over 1 million non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke); the life expectancy of smokers is at least ten years less than that of non-smokers,” said Ms John.

The director identified the tobacco epidemic as one of the greatest public threats the world faces.

“More than seven million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 1.3 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

“In Nigeria, more than 25,000 children between 10 and 14 years are daily tobacco users, while the age of tobacco use initiation is between 13 and 15 years; secondary school and university studies show ‘shisha’ smoking rates between three and seven per cent,” she said.

The director regretted that the tobacco industry was actively focusing on children and youth to cultivate a new generation of customers, adding that studies had revealed that most smokers started before the age of 18.

In her remark, Kumshida Balami, the FCT coordinator for the World Health Organisation (WHO), urged the children to join the movement to help drive the campaign against tobacco intake and to create a world free of tobacco.

Ms Balami urged the students to shun tobacco, even whenever they were approached with it.

She added that such a product could shorten their lives, as a healthy lifestyle was always the best.

(NAN)