The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA has warned that Nigeria is experiencing a rapid rise in new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products, raising concerns about youth exposure and regulatory loopholes.
Speaking in Lagos at the launch of a report titled “New Smoke Trap: New and Emerging Nicotine and Tobacco Products, Youth Exposure and Policy Gaps in Nigeria,” CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said products such as e-cigarettes (vapes), nicotine pouches and heated tobacco devices are becoming increasingly visible in supermarkets, nightlife venues and digital platforms frequented by young people.
Oluwafemi noted that although Nigeria made progress with the National Tobacco Control Act of 2015 and its 2019 regulations, existing laws were primarily designed to regulate combustible cigarettes and may not adequately address modern nicotine delivery systems, many of which are marketed as “tobacco-free.”
According to the report, a surveillance study conducted between October and December 2025 in Lagos, Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory identified 781 nicotine and tobacco-related products. Of these, 573 were classified as new and emerging nicotine products, with e-cigarettes accounting for 522 variants.
Reeling out findings, Assistant Director of CAPPA, Zikora Ibeh and Associate Director, CAPPA, Martins Ogunlade said many of the products are flavoured, attractively packaged and promoted through influencer marketing and online marketplaces, often with weak or non-existent age verification systems.
The duo noted that some nicotine pouches were discovered to contain strengths of up to 100 milligrams per sachet, heightening concerns about addiction risks among adolescents and young adults.
The report warned that portraying these products as “reduced harm” alternatives could reverse Nigeria’s tobacco control gains, especially as evidence suggests many users are young people who had never previously smoked.
It called for comprehensive regulatory reforms to ensure all nicotine products fall under public health oversight, are integrated into excise tax frameworks and subjected to strict advertising and digital marketing restrictions.
On his part Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research urged policymakers to regulate nicotine itself rather than focusing solely on tobacco content, warning that delayed action could entrench a new generation of addiction.
Also speaking, President and CEO of Vital Strategies Mary-Ann Etiebet, linked the expansion of the nicotine market to Nigeria’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases. She said such diseases account for nearly 29 percent of deaths in the country and could exceed 50 percent by 2030 if current trends persist.
”But I want to ask all of you, for Africa and for Nigeria in particular. The question is this: if these products are intended to support stopping tobacco use among long-term adult smokers, why is the industry investing so aggressively in markets, including digital online platforms, with the world’s youngest populations, where so many are users who have never smoked and have never consumed nicotine at all?”.
Etiebet added that preventable illnesses associated with harmful products contribute to an estimated ₦200 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Other stakeholders present also urged the Federal Government to harmonise regulations, close advertising loopholes, strengthen online age verification systems and intensify public education on nicotine addiction, stressing that Nigeria has a critical window to prevent a new cycle of youth dependence.