The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) disclosed in Calabar on Wednesday that it received only N28 million as an allocation for tobacco control between 2023 and 2025.

The spokesperson of the NTCA, Emmanuel Onwuka, who disclosed this in an interview, warned that the funding was grossly inadequate.

Mr Onwuka said the allocations threaten the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015 and weaken efforts against tobacco-related diseases nationwide.

According to him, domestic investment in tobacco control shows N4.7 million in 2023, N10 million in 2024, and N13 million in 2025, despite growing public health challenges linked to tobacco use.

He said the allocations contrast sharply with Nigeria’s estimated N526.4 billion spent treating tobacco-related illnesses in 2019 alone, according to the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa.

Mr Onwuka cited the World Health Organisation as estimating that more than 3.5 million Nigerians use tobacco, while about 16,100 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases.

“Enforcement of smoke-free laws, public awareness campaigns, cessation services, research and tobacco industry monitoring remained largely dependent on international donor funding. Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the WHO have sustained advocacy, policy reforms and implementation support in Nigeria,” he said.

He warned that declining global development funding could weaken tobacco control programmes, exposing Nigeria to aggressive tobacco industry marketing and increasing public health risks.

Mr Onwuka urged the government to establish sustainable domestic financing by earmarking tobacco tax revenues exclusively for tobacco control programmes and enforcement activities.

He cited Gabon, which allocates one per cent of tobacco tax revenues to tobacco control, and Côte d’Ivoire, which dedicated special tobacco levies to health programmes.

Vetty Agala, executive secretary of the Rivers Contributory Health Protection Programme, stated, “Sustainable tobacco control financing depends on effective revenue generation, resource pooling and strategic purchasing of health interventions.”

He said dedicated funding would ensure consistent support for enforcement, public education, cessation services, research, institutional capacity and effective implementation of existing tobacco control laws.

He noted that NTCA, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids had consistently urged the government to increase annual funding to at least N300 million.

He described the proposed N300 million allocation as a practical investment, considering the country’s rising healthcare costs, productivity losses, and preventable deaths linked to tobacco consumption.

Mr Onwuka called on the federal government, the National Assembly, and state governments to prioritise sustainable tobacco control financing, saying that stronger investment would protect lives, reduce healthcare costs, and improve national productivity.

(NAN)