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A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has urged Nigeria’s delegation to the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to prioritise public health over tobacco industry interests.
The CSOs working in tobacco control, in a joint statement on Sunday, November 16, 2025, warned the delegate not to sell out Nigeria’s public health to tobacco industry. The WHO FCTC COP11 is holding in Geneva, Switzerland, from November 17 to 25.
The group includes Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Gatefield, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) and Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development
They cautioned against yielding to the influence of the tobacco industry and its allies.
“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,” the CSOs said.
The WHO FCTC is the world’s coordinated response to the tobacco epidemic, while the Conference of the Parties serves as its governing body, comprising all Parties to the Convention. Currently, there are 183 Parties, covering more than 90 per cent of the world’s population.
The group and other public health advocates raised the alarm over the tobacco industry’s renewed global campaign to infiltrate COP11 discussions through proxies.
This is in a bid to sway delegates into supporting the introduction and legitimisation of nicotine-based and other novel products, including e-cigarettes, under the guise of harm reduction.
They also demanded that the Nigerian government and its delegates reject all tobacco industry-linked funding, partnerships, and influence.
The advocates said they were watching closely as global negotiations begin, stressing that Nigerians would hold the delegates fully accountable for any action that undermined the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction.
They urged the Nigerian delegation to act in the nation’s best interest and uphold the spirit and letter of Sections 25-28, 33-34, and 38(2) of the National Tobacco Control Act, which combine to prohibit government officers and agencies from any financial and non-financial relationship with the tobacco industry and its proxies.
According to them, the delegates must also comply with obligations under the WHO FCTC, to which Nigeria is a Party.
The CSOs reminded delegates that Article 5.3 of the Convention explicitly obliges Parties to protect public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry.
“We are aware that the tobacco industry and its front groups are working overtime to manipulate discussions at COP 11 through delegates, pushing narratives that normalise nicotine addiction and weaken existing tobacco control measures.
“Nigeria must not be complicit in this devious strategy.”
The group called on the Nigerian government to demonstrate leadership in protecting its citizens, especially young people, from addiction and exploitation by multinational tobacco corporations seeking to expand their markets across Africa.
“Tobacco kills over seven million people every year,” the coalition warned.
“Now the industry wants to hook a new generation on nicotine using shiny gadgets, false marketing, and the manipulation of regulatory officials.”
They described novel nicotine-based products as the “new faces of the same deadly business.”
“These nicotine-based products touted by the industry as less harmful alternatives to smoking are not solutions.
”They are traps through which the industry hopes to continue raking in profits at the expense of public health.
“The same companies that created a century of death and addiction now want to rebrand themselves as part of the solution. It is deception at its peak, and Nigeria must not fall for it.
“Nigeria’s delegates must go to Geneva to defend life, not profit.
”Nigerians are watching and will hold them accountable for any actions or positions that undermine public health or promote the interests of the tobacco industry.”
The group stressed that industry interference remained the single greatest obstacle to effective tobacco control.
It warned that the introduction of novel nicotine products will reverse public health gains made under the National Tobacco Control Act and related policies.
By Deji Abdulwahab
