Nigeria Sues Cigarette Manufacturer Over Child Smokers

Nigeria's government says it has begun legal action against three leading international cigarette companies.
It is demanding more than $40bn in compensation over their alleged role in promoting underage smoking.

The companies concerned are British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and International Tobacco Ltd.

A BAT spokesperson in London said children are not and never will be their audience and it believes the action is flawed and lacks merit.

BAT's Catherine Armstrong said it would vigorously defend the claim.

The government is also seeking an injunction compelling the companies to stop the marketing, distribution and sale of cigarettes to minors.

It says that products sold by the companies are addictive and hazardous to public health.

Cigarette smoking is widespread in Nigeria and BAT recently set up a factory in the West African country.

Correspondents say that over the past 20 years, tobacco companies have aggressively marketed their products in Africa and other developing regions to compensate for the loss of sales in developed countries that have imposed smoking restrictions.

Restrictions

The BBC's Fidelis Mbah in Lagos says the Nigerian government has in the past few years stepped up its campaign against smoking with the health warning "smokers are liable to die young" on cigarette packets and after radio and TV adverts.

Cigarette adverts have also been restricted, only allowed on radio and TV after 10pm, and billboards have been scrapped.

But our correspondent says tobacco sellers are still on the streets displaying their products for all to see.

Most children smoke in hiding after buying their cigarettes as there is no enforcement of a ban on the sale of tobacco products to underage children, he says.

One Lagos seller said he did sometimes sell cigarettes to children.

"But only to those who say they are sent by their uncles or fathers to buy," he told the BBC.

The World Health Organization estimates that 18% of young Nigerians smoke.

How amazing, they are using aggressive campaign to persuade Africans to smoke.  Good development on Nigerian government part



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7083202.stm

Another public image news by the Nigerian Government. But my qestion is, what happens if Nigeria got lucky in getting the 40billion dollars it is demanding?

Another government official will be renovating his/her house next! While the citizenry gets hungry the more.

UK tobacco firm targets African youth

A BBC investigation has found that a British tobacco company is actively targeting young people and teenagers in Africa.
Cigarettes are being handed out free at youth events specially organised by tobacco firms during school holidays.
The companies insist they only give the samples to adult smokers, but there's evidence their own rules are not being followed.
The investigation is a further blow to an industry already dogged by accusations of dirty tricks and dubious marketing techniques, particularly in developing countries.


Company representatives were giving free cigarettes

The company involved, British American Tobacco (BAT), has pledged to re-train its staff to stop the practice. The World Health Organisation is backing a radical international tobacco control treaty, which would include a global advertising ban. At a beach volleyball tournament in the Gambia, the organisers told the BBC it was laid on for young people during the school holidays. Here in one of Africa's poorest countries though there was another more sinister purpose; promoting cigarettes. Yellow Benson and Hedges banners were everywhere and so were young women in B&H t-shirts handing out free cigarettes in the crowd. Tobacco companies say they don't give samples to under-eighteens. But as the women helped youngsters light up many appeared under-age and no-one checked their age. One of the cigarette reps said the age limit was only fifteen before quickly correcting herself.
She said: "We only give free cigarettes to big boys."

'Encouraging people'

One eighteen year old told us, "Coming to the beach and handing out free cigarettes - that is encouraging people to smoke."
The operation is run from London by BAT, who produce the main cigarette brands in the Gambia, Piccadilly and Benson and Hedges.
The Gambia, a muslim country, used to be one of the few places where cigarette advertising was banned.
After a military coup the ban was lifted three years ago and now tobacco sponsorship is everywhere.
The result has been a doubling of cigarette sales almost overnight. The World Health Organisation believes it has also led to an increase in smoking among children.
A recent survey it conducted across Africa found one in five under fifteen year olds now smoke.
The WHO representative in the Gambia, Dr James Mwanzia, said:"It is the height of hypocrisy because, how do you sponsor a health event like a volley ball match and then give out cigarettes?"
Football tournaments, music concerts, even parties are also sponsored by cigarette companies as a way of gathering young people together.
Youth football teams in the Gambia can't even afford footballs, so tobacco companies hand out free cigarettes at soccer games.
Following our investigation BAT say they would re-brief their teams in the Gambia as a precautionary measure to ensure their staff do not hand out free cigarettes to children under eighteeen.
Head of Marketing Bob Fletcher told the BBC that if staff had been found to be breaching BAT's global guidelines, action would be taken against them.
Clive Bates, director of Action on Smoking and Health, told BBC News Online: "As soon as they think no-one is looking, they are going after the teenage market."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/933430.stm

Holding the wrong end of the broom, if you ask me.

Do what as been done elsewhere: stifling them with taxes and stuff; ensure that laws that prohibit sales to minors are enforced and do propaganda that will disuade minors from smoking.

That, perhaps, is all you can do. an outright ban is always counter productive as can be seen in anything that is baned; people just love to do things that are banned! Has banning smoking anywhere ever significantly reduced smoking? don't think so

Its about time that the Nigerian government did something about the tobacco industry. The goverment has pretended not to know what the longtime effects of smoking will cause its citzens but has readily pocketed the tax money from the industry. What is in doubt now is how serious goverments intent is in really protecting the health of the populace or wether this is just another means of raising money for fat cat politicians.

Rubbish lawsuit. Most law suits against Tobbacco companies are always lacking in merit and these class actions never see the light of the day. This is day light robbery and i hope the tobacco companys double slam the Nigerian govt.

Who went to woo Bat as potential investors to stop importing cigarettes to Naija and gave them a large expanse of land to grow these tobaccos and start exporting to provide foreign exchange for the govt?

Who levied the tobacco companies with multiple taxes to prevent them from selling it to every tom privates and harry?

Who placed a national wide ban on the advertising of tobacco in all media mediums?

Who forced the tobacco companies to place a warning on the side labels and state it's for only 18+

who are the retailers that buy it from the tobacco companies? Are they under age people or adults?

Who sells cigarettes more in Naija? Isn ti the mallams that make their money from the sale of these cigarettes and what's their own whether a 7 year old or 77 year old man wants to smoke. Shebi the mallam is only interested in his profit? Is it the duty of bat to tell these malams how to sell their products?

The average age for you to be eligible to enter a club is 16 to 18 which makes you an adult. If the clubs decide to admit teenagers in the mould of 12 or 14, whose fault is that if they now buy these cigarettes from the bar men?

Beside yaradua is a chain smoker, so i don't see this suit seeing the light of the day. All bat needs to do is assure him of a lifetime supply of benson free and the case is dead and buried

Nothing is wrong with that , they have taken the right step but the problem is "where will the money go?" ask again.
But i believe there are more effective ways of doing this.

wether its a litigation in the wrong direction or in the right direction what comes to fact is that is the dollars going to go to the right source or would be shared and someone who doesnt get raises an alarm and we get another etthe case
  or how do u see it guys ond honeyz

good thinking they should go on with their oil exploration and leave this civilized style it doesnt fit Nigeria they would end up fooling their selves

the sue or no sue thang is just dumb and stupid, na dey talk say make them' smoke cigarrette, na personal choice , abi?

I think this is a ood idea. Except when the money comes who go get am. Na de pickin them whey se smoke or the snake under grass gpvernment that will use it for their swiss accounts?