The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to shun tobacco use by children in Nigeria.
Dr. Jamila Ibrahim, the Minister of Youth and Development, made this known on Friday when she received the Regional Director, Tobacco Control Programme Campaign for Tobacco–Free Kids, Ms. Bintou Camara, in her office in Abuja.
According to Ibrahim, tobacco smoking among children is a big challenge facing the country.
She said Nigeria needs to partner and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to educate the populace to understand the health implications of tobacco smoking among young people.
“We will focus on adolescent health. It is the area we need to be proactive in putting mechanisms in place to achieve a preventive approach to tobacco smoking among kids.
“We must work with the act that bans tobacco smoking in public places especially to prevent secondhand smoke,” she stressed.
In her remarks, Camara opined that the organization was in the country to campaign and educate Nigerians on the danger of tobacco smoking.
“We are the leading advocacy organization in the world that advocates against tobacco smoking.
“We are focusing on tobacco control. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths that is why is it important that we tackle tobacco prevention,” she asserted.
She alleged that, tobacco companies target young people in order to safeguard their profits.
Camara said that it is important to tackle tobacco control because the world is facing an incredible enemy that may affect public health issues.
She said that the organization had been working for more than 25 years to educate the youths on the danger of tobacco smoking.
“The organization has fought to protect children and save lives from causes of preventable death.
“Our vision is a future free of the death and disease caused by tobacco because tobacco has killed enough,” Camara said.
Similarly, she said that Nigeria is the most important market in Africa and probably the nation with a beautiful, powerful and strong number of young people on the continent.
“The most important thing for us is to raise awareness and educate youths on the consequences of tobacco use.
