FG urged to ban flavored tobacco, Vape sales to children

A coalition of Nigerian parents, health experts, and civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate to urgently ban the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products to children under 18, warning of a growing public health crisis fueled by unregulated vape sales to minors. The coalition, including […]

A coalition of Nigerian parents, health experts, and civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate to urgently ban the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products to children under 18, warning of a growing public health crisis fueled by unregulated vape sales to minors.

The coalition, including the Nigerian Cancer Society and Gatefield Impact among others, noted a disturbing reality on Nigerian streets, with children dressed in school uniforms being able to purchase vapes from every store they visited without questions asked, or age checks.

Health communication specialist of the coalition, Omei Bongos-Ikwue, speaking at the Mother’s March, on Wednesday in Abuja, as part of activities commemorating the World No Tobacco Day, said that despite National Tobacco Control Act that regulates tobacco, there are no regulations that prohibit the sales of e-cigarettes, vapes to children hence it should be banned.

She said that e-cigarettes and vapes are produced with fruits and candy mints making them attractive to children adding that the tobacco industry do this on purpose because they want children to be hooked but neglects the health injury it poses to them.

“E-cigarettes contains nicotine which is highly addictive and dangerous for children. There is no compromise there. So, I’m calling on the government as well to also not compromise, protect the health of children.

“Because the thing about the tobacco industry, they like to be one step ahead of us. The government just needs to take a stand and strengthen what we already have in our policies, and ban the sale of flavored tobacco, prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes and vapes to children,” she said.

Bongos-Ikwue said that government needs to strengthen policies on tobacco for adults, not just children which can lead to addictions and endanger lives.

“There has to be a policy shift now, clear policy action so that great numbers of children are protected people below the age of 25 still have brains that are developing, and nicotine can affect developing brains. It can lead to a greater propensity for addiction.

“There’s also evidence that intake of vapes, e-cigarettes, because of the nicotine, it raises your adrenaline, spikes blood pressure, and increases the risk of stroke and heart attacks down the line.

“There are real health issues with this. Brain development in children, addiction, and also serving as a gateway drug for other tobacco products and nicotine-containing products,” she said.

She noted that the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics are particularly insidious in Nigeria, where flavored nicotine products are aggressively promoted using glossy, youth-friendly packaging and amplified by celebrity endorsements, exemplified by a top artistes’ branded e-cigarettes, reaching over 20 million followers.

“This repackaging of addiction as culture and coolness disproportionately targets youth. The crisis is also deeply gendered. Research funded by the Gates Foundation shows women in Nigeria prefer smokeless tobacco products, often purchasing them discreetly in beauty aisles of malls, reducing social stigma. Before comprehensive advertising bans, tobacco companies gave cigarettes a hyper-feminine image.

“Now, they apply similar strategies to emerging products like vapes, with bright colors, sweet flavors, and influencer campaigns cloaked as empowerment,” she added.