Civil society organisations working in tobacco control have urged Nigeria’s delegation to the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties, COP11, to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, WHO-FCTC, to resist pressure from the tobacco industry as global negotiations open in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.
In a joint statement, the groups expressed concern over what they described as a renewed global push by the tobacco industry and its allies to infiltrate COP11 discussions through proxies.
According to them, the strategy aims to persuade delegates to endorse and legitimise nicotine-based and emerging products, including e-cigarettes, under the guise of harm reduction.
The organisations, including the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, NTCA, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, Gatefield, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria ERA/FoEN, and the Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development, warned the delegation not to “sell out Nigeria’s public health.”
They also demanded that Nigerian officials reject any funding, partnership, or influence linked to the tobacco industry, stressing that delegates will be held accountable for any actions that undermine efforts to curb tobacco and nicotine addiction.
The CSOs reminded the delegation of their obligations under the National Tobacco Control Act, specifically Sections 25–28, 33–34, and 38(2), which prohibit government officials and agencies from maintaining financial or non-financial relationships with the tobacco industry and its proxies.
They also cited Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which requires Parties to protect public health policies from the commercial interests of tobacco companies.
“We are aware that the tobacco industry and its front groups are working overtime to manipulate discussions at COP11, pushing narratives that normalise nicotine addiction and weaken existing tobacco control measures,” the statement read. “Nigeria must not be complicit in this devious strategy.”
The advocates urged the government to demonstrate leadership by safeguarding Nigerians, particularly young people, from what they described as aggressive market expansion tactics by multinational tobacco corporations.
They warned that while tobacco already kills over seven million people globally each year, the industry is now using “shiny gadgets, false marketing and manipulation of regulatory officials” to target a new generation with novel nicotine products, which they described as “the new faces of the same deadly business.”
“These so-called alternatives are not solutions. They are devices through which the industry hopes to continue profiting at the expense of public health,” they added.
The groups emphasised that industry interference remains the biggest barrier to effective tobacco control and warned that embracing nicotine-based products could reverse gains made under Nigeria’s tobacco control laws.
“We call on Nigerian delegates to stand firm with the global public health community, resist any form of industry influence, and support decisions that advance a tobacco-free future,” they said.
COP11, held from 17–22 November, will bring together 183 Parties to the Convention to consider decisions aimed at strengthening global tobacco control and preventing nicotine addiction.
This will be followed by the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) from 24–26 November, where discussions will focus on strengthening the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.