A senior medical practitioner, Dr Leo Odudu, says the government’s sponsorship of campaigns in local languages will help to tackle the tobacco menace in society.
Odudu, the medical director, Emel Hospital, FESTAC, Lagos, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.
He spoke ahead of the “World No Tobacco Day”, observed annually on May 31.
World No Tobacco Day was established in 1987 by the World Health Organisation to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use and to promote effective control measures.
The 2026 theme, “Unmasking the Appeal – Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction”, focuses on exposing how tobacco and nicotine industries use flavoured products, digital marketing and lifestyle branding to attract young people and sustain addiction.
The campaign also highlights the need to protect vulnerable groups, particularly women, girls and youth, from targeted marketing and misleading “harm reduction” narratives.
Odudu said that the most significant challenges in tackling the tobacco menace were the lack of proper education of the public on the dangers of tobacco use and its addictive tendency.
He stated that the poor literacy level of the general population was being exploited.
“Statistics show that tobacco use in various forms is more common among the uneducated rural populace.
“This group have other factors like malnutrition and poor access to health care that compound the harmful effects of tobacco use.
“Government is only seeing the economic side and ignoring the health consequences.
“Inscribing on packets of cigarettes that smokers are likely to die young is not enough of a deterrent, as the heavy smokers don’t buy in packets,” he said.
Odudu noted that despite health physicians’ engagement in public campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use, more efforts are needed to tackle the scourge.
He advocated for continuous education of the populace, economic enhancement of the citizens and engagement of institutions like churches, mosques, market women and social clubs in the campaign process.
According to Odudu, the government should also implement policies against tobacco use and abuse, and sponsor anti-tobacco campaigns in local languages.
He advised that the government should make it very strict to establish tobacco industries and that good border control restrictions should also be considered to prevent restricted substances from entering the country. (NAN)
