By: Manoah Kikekon
ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has mounted intense pressure on the Federal Government to overhaul its public health policies, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to implement sweeping tobacco control frameworks. The professional body warned that an absolute ban on tobacco products or the scientific elimination of nicotine may be the only viable paths left to save the country from an escalating health and financial crisis.
The strategic call to action was delivered by the National Chairman of the ACPN, Pharm. Ambrose Igwe Kammah Ezeh, during a media briefing commemorating World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2026. This year's global event is anchored on the highly critical theme: "Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction."
According to internal epidemiological tracking, tobacco use remains one of the single most destructive preventable agents of mortality in modern history. Globally, it claims up to half of its life-long users, resulting in over eight million fatalities annually including 1.3 million non-smokers tragically lost to secondary secondhand smoke exposure.
On the domestic front, the statistics paint a profoundly sobering picture of the challenges facing the Nigerian health sector.
The True Cost of Tobacco Use in Nigeria (2026 Metrics)
Annual Mortality| 26,000 to 28,000 deaths | Chronic cancers, cardiovascular failures, and respiratory breakdowns.
National Economic Toll| ₦634 Billion annually | Aggregated healthcare treatment expenditures and severe workforce productivity losses.
Global Youth Exposure| 40 Million children (Ages 13-15) | Active consumers of at least one major commercial nicotine/tobacco product.
Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh emphasized that the current regulatory architecture inside the country is losing its edge due to systemic bottlenecks.
“Tobacco remains one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide," Ezeh stated. "The continued prevalence of tobacco consumption demonstrates that our current interventions have not delivered the desired outcomes. Government complacency in addressing this epidemic only benefits the tobacco industry while thousands of Nigerians continue to lose their lives annually.”
A core area of distress raised by the ACPN leadership is the highly sophisticated, predatory branding campaigns executed by manufacturing syndicates. By blending deceptive packaging, exotic artificial flavors, and hyper-targeted digital media placements, companies are effectively locking down a brand-new generation of substance-dependent citizens.
Furthermore, the rise of e-cigarettes, vapes, and high-tech electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) has further complicated behavioral rehabilitation efforts.
“The tobacco industry continues to target young people through carefully crafted campaigns designed to make harmful products appear attractive and harmless," Ezeh warned. "This is creating a new generation of nicotine-dependent individuals. A strong policy that eliminates nicotine from tobacco products or an outright ban on tobacco will permanently address many of these avoidable health hazards.”
The pharmacists emphasized that since tobacco yields absolutely zero therapeutic or medicinal value to human physiology, it should no longer be treated with legislative leniency. The organization is asking the executive and legislative arms of government to close legal loopholes, tighten import inspections, and fully penalize entities violating clean-air acts.
Concluding the brief, Ezeh extended the community pharmacists’ solidarity to millions of Nigerian families directly managing the traumatic effects of tobacco-related terminal illnesses.
“As we commemorate World No Tobacco Day 2026, we must recommit ourselves to protecting public health, reducing preventable deaths and building a healthier, tobacco-free Nigeria," Ezeh concluded. "This is a burden that Nigeria can no longer sustain. Every year, families are devastated, healthcare systems are stretched and economic productivity is undermined because of diseases caused by tobacco use.”