Tobacco, in its various forms, remains a major public health threat in Nigeria. The cultivation, production, marketing, and sale of tobacco products contribute to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods. Around 4.7 million adults (age 15 and older) in Nigeria use tobacco products and risk serious health harms like cancer and heart disease. Tobacco control measures, such as taxation, banning smoking in public places, and restricting sales to minors, can reap enormous health and economic benefits.
#tobacconobefood
Tobacco use creates a demand for its cultivation, production, and consumption. Farmers who cultivate tobacco suffer severe health consequences, including “green tobacco sickness,” and live in poverty. The tobacco industry continues to exploit these farmers and violate laws and ethics, including the use of child labour and damage to the environment. According to recent research by the International Monetary Fund, acute food insecurity in Nigeria has risen by 23% following covid-19 pandemic and food inflation.
#tobacconobefood
Yet, land that should have been used to farm edible and essential foods such as wheat, beans, and maize, is being used to cultivate tobacco. This exacerbates the risk that we face. Farmland that has been used to farm tobacco is damaged due to the toxic nature of the plants. This means that more land would need to be cleared to farm tobacco, while already cleared land has no viable agricultural purpose.
#tobacconobefood
We are calling on the Nigerian government and Federal Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Labour to:
1. To promote and incentivize the cultivation and production of alternative and cash crops that are more profitable to farmers' livelihoods and safe for the environment.
2. To create mass literacy and awareness campaigns on the dangers associated with tobacco cultivation, especially in rural areas with tobacco farming practices.
3. To implement a campaign against tobacco-related child labour by commissioning an investigation into such exploitative practices endangers the lives of children.
#tobacconobefood
We don’t need tobacco to survive. We need food. Safeguard Nigerian lives our environment, and improve food cultivation. #tobacconobefood
#tobacconobefood
Sign this petition https://chng.it/xHt8J7KVpm to support the call to protect farmers and communities against tobacco in Nigeria.