Daily Independent Online.
*
Friday, July 02, 2004.
Nigeria signs anti-tobacco treaty
By Olayinka
Oyegbile,
Assistant
Editor,
Lagos
Barely 48-hours before the closing of the
signing of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), Nigeria on
Monday signed the treaty. This is coming just as the World Health Organisation
(WHO) advised travellers visiting the country to be fully immunised against
polio.
By signing the treaty, Nigeria has become
one of the countries that have acceded to the WHO inspired treaty, which is
meant to control the sale, advertising and sponsorship of events by tobacco
companies. A statement by the WHO said, “With nearly 90 per cent of
countries having signed and over half of the required ratifications, keeping
the convention on track to becoming binding international law by the end of
2004. The WHO FCTC has become one of the most rapidly embraced United Nations’
conventions, with 167 WHO Member States and the European Community (EC)
signing, and 23 countries ratifying the convention, just one year after it
opened for signature in Geneva. WHO is now helping countries prepare for the
moment when the WHO FCTC reaches 40 ratifications and it comes into
force.”
A coalition of five non-governmental
organisations had in May written to President Olusegun Obasanjo, urging him to
make sure Nigeria signed the treaty before it closed.
Reacting to Nigeria’s signing of the
treaty, Mr Akinbode Oluwafemi, a tobacco control advocate with the
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) said,
“It is good that Nigeria has at the last minute signed the treaty. Our
next appeal is to call on the government to hasten the process of ratifying
it.”
The FCTC has become one of the most rapidly
embraced United Nations’ conventions, with 167 WHO Member States and the
European Community (EC) signing, and 23 countries ratifying the convention,
just one year after it opened for signature in Geneva.
The WHO restated its increasing commitment
worldwide to control the tobacco epidemic, which continues to expand at
alarming rates, especially among people in less-developed countries.
According to Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the WHO Director
General, “Although we have good reason to be confident, a relentless
effort will still be needed for the foreseeable future. Current projections
show a rise of 31 per cent in tobacco-related deaths during the next 20 years,
which will double the current death toll, bringing it to almost 10 million a
year. When the Treaty comes into force, national and local activities aimed at
reversing these trends will be enormously strengthened. The result will be
improved public health and reduced poverty.”
