|
BNW |
|
B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rights group sues NAFDAC over cigarette
TO compel the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) perform its statutory duty, People Against Drug Dependence and Ignorance (PADDI), a non-governmental organisation, has sued the regulating body for allowing the promotion of tobacco in the country.
In the suit, which comes up for hearing on October 11, PADDI will be asking the Federal High Court, Lagos, to compel NAFDAC to classify tobacco, especially cigarettes, as drug.
Disclosing this to journalists yesterday at the anniversary of he organisation and the third conference on tackling drug abuse, the Executive Director of PADDI, Mr. Eze Eluchie, faulted the classification of cigarette by NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
According to him, the agencies, which are statutory bodies charged with the administration and control of drug and its abuse in the country, had classified cigarette as a "gate-way drug."
He noted that its consumption was capable of exposing or leading to more dependence on harder substances such as marijuana, heroin and cocaine.
"If cigarette is recognised as a gate-way drug, why does the government allow its continued production, importation and usage? Eze queried.
Identifying the dangers associated with tobacco taking, he added that the World Health Organisation's (WHO) statistics revealed that over 4.8 million people world-wide, of which Nigerians are 280,000, would die this year from the consequences of tobacco use.
He added: "We are also mindful of the several adverse health consequences posed to the smoker and non-smoker alike as a result of cigarette smoke."
Established in August 1995, PADDI seeks better laws and policies aimed at ensuring a drug-free society.
Currently, it has two affiliated organisations in the Netherlands and South Africa.
|
|
||||||||||||
