Industry Interference : Nigeria

Tobacco Industry Interference

Historically, tobacco control efforts have been opposed by the tobacco industry, making it critical for tobacco control advocates to continuously monitor, expose and counter the tobacco industry’s interference in the adoption and implementation of tobacco control policies.

This page provides information on tobacco industry interference in Nigeria and the tactics used by the tobacco industry. It also covers information on tobacco market structure and an industry interference index ranking.

Nigeria is one of the main tobacco production hubs in Africa, manufacturing both for the domestic and export markets.

With a 78.6% market share, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) is the largest tobacco company in Nigeria and has been operating in Nigeria since 1912.

Other players registered in Nigeria include International Tobacco Company Limited, with a 16.5% market share, Black Horse Tobacco Limited with 3%, and Philip Morris International Nigeria Limited at 1.1%, while other companies constitute approximately 0.8% of the market share in Nigeria.

Tobacco Company Market Shares in 2016

Data source: 2020 Tobacco Industry Interference Index report

Globally, the tobacco industry has used various tactics to interfere with the adoption and implementation of tobacco control measures

, such as:

maneuvering to hijack the political and legislative processes;
exaggerating the economic importance of the industry;
manipulating public opinion to gain the appearance of respectability;
fabricating support through front groups;
discrediting proven scientific evidence;
intimidating governments with litigation or the threat of litigation; and
deploying corporate social responsibility engagements to compromise public officials.

Nigeria ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO – FCTC)

on 20 October 2005, and this entered into force on 18 January 2006. Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act was signed into law on 26 May 2015 and gazetted on 10 June 2015.

The Act covers several areas of tobacco control, including the ban on smoking in public places, the prohibition of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, product packaging (graphic health warnings, font, color, placement, etc), licensing, and protection from tobacco industry interference.

Even with the domestication of the WHO FCTC through the National Tobacco Control Act 2015, reports show that tobacco industry interference remains a big obstacle to effective tobacco control in Nigeria and Africa.

The FCTC recommends that parties should protect their public health policies from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law. However, the tobacco industry and its allies have become part and parcel of the institutional structures in the country.

The tobacco industry’s tactics of interfering with or weakening public health policies include the use of front and third party groups, such as trade associations and farmer groups, as well as false economic reports that are shared so as to hinder regulations.

There are numerous instances where the tobacco industry uses front groups to foster its efforts to undermine tobacco control in Nigeria.

For instance, the tobacco industry hides behind front groups promoting educational initiatives. The Foundation for a Smoke-free World, funded by Philip Morris International, was specifically cited as being involved in financing education initiatives.

The Foundation funds the Conrad Nigeria Challenge, which targets innovative young minds in the country to collaborate and come up with innovations and inventions with market potential. The Tobacco Harm Reduction Nigeria

initiative, which promotes industry arguments, is a project under the Knowledge Action Change Scholarship, also funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-free World. Through these kinds of initiatives the industry subtly distances itself from the harms of its products while posturing as a stakeholder in public health or any sector of their intervention.

The tobacco industry is one of the richest industries. They have deep pockets, but when you decentralize tobacco control they cannot fight all the states and governments at the same time, so [they] become weaker when tobacco control moves closer to people. People at the local level also know what they want. The best way to address and prevent tobacco use is not to concentrate all your fight with the central government. The tobacco industry cannot fight against thousands of local governments.
(Academic) – TCDI Nigeria Assessment Mission

Historical Examples of Tobacco Industry Interference

The tobacco industry has historically employed a multitude of tactics to shape and influence tobacco control policy.

It has used its lobbying and marketing machinery to manipulate the media in order to discredit proven scientific research and to influence governments to promote and distribute their products.

Below are some examples of industry interference.

Exploitation of public opinion

The tobacco industry uses different tactics to manipulate or mold public opinion to their advantage. To create the impression that it is socially responsible, in June 2018, BATN donated agricultural supplies to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

to obtain a favorable opinion from the government and the public at large.

Policy Interference

In 2014 the industry was at the table and participated actively in the discussion and development of the Standards for Tobacco Control in Nigeria. This is in conflict with the WHO FCTC Article 5.3 guidelines which states that “in setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law”. The industry’s involvement in the process was against the FCTC guidelines and safeguards that Nigeria’s Ministry of Health should guarantee.

Groups supporting the industry

The industry uses different groups to further their agenda. In June 2018, Business Renaissance Group (BRG) and Sustained Development Collective protested the new excise duty tax on tobacco.

Under the new tax regime, in addition to the 20 per cent value-added tax, each cigarette stick attracted a ₦1 specific rate in 2018; that is, ₦20 per pack of 20 sticks. In 2019 and 2020, each stick is charged ₦2 (₦40 per pack) and ₦2.90 (₦58), respectively. BRG threatened court action

against the Nigerian government for introducing the policy but the policy was implemented nonetheless.

Economic Manipulation

In 2018, some union associations with ties to the tobacco industry advanced unsubstantiated arguments against the Nigerian government’s plans for higher tobacco taxes. They stated that higher taxes on tobacco products would lead to job losses and cause hardship for citizens,

but these claims have been proven to be unfounded.

The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (Global Tobacco Index) measures how governments are responding to influences from the tobacco industry and protecting their public health policies from commercial and vested interests of the industry, as required of parties under the WHO FCTC.

Countries are ranked according to total scores provided by civil society groups that prepared their respective country indices.

The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, measures the level of tobacco industry interference in countries globally, based on the following indicators:

Indicator 1 (I1): The industry’s participation in policy development
Indicator 2 (I2): Tobacco-industry related corporate social responsibility activities
Indicator 3 (I3): Benefits given to the tobacco industry
Indicator 4 (I4): Unnecessary interaction between government and industry
Indicator 5 (I5): Measures for transparency
Indicator 6 (I6). Preventing conflicts of interest
Indicator 7 (I7). Measures that prevent industry influence

In the analysis, the lower the score, the better the ranking of the country. In 2020, Nigeria ranked 15th out of 57 countries, with a global index score of 49.

However, in 2021, Nigeria’s ranking dropped to 28th out of 80 countries with a Global Tobacco Index Score of 53.

In 2020, Nigeria ranked fourth out of nine African countries covered by the index and ranked seventh in 2021 of fourteen African countries.

This drop in ranking indicates that Nigeria’s performance got worse, with 2021’s survey showing that the tobacco industry is intensifying its interference despite Nigeria’s tobacco control legislation and efforts.

Global Tobacco Index 2020

The lower the score, the lower the level of interference

T.I.I Score|
0 - 9
10 - 19
20 - 29
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 58
60 - 69
70 - 79
80 - 89
90 - 100

Nigeria - Score: 53

Data source: globaltobaccoindex.org

Nigeria’s Overall Performance

Based on the WHO FCTC industry interference guideline, Nigeria’s overall performance was below average. Below are some of the indicators that Nigeria scored poorly.