Nigeria’s Drop in 2025 Tobacco Industry Interference Ratings Raises Public Health Concerns

Nigeria has slipped further in the global ranking of countries protecting their public health policies from tobacco industry influence, raising public health concerns.

This is according to the 2025 Nigeria Tobacco Industry Interference (TII) Index released in Lagos on Thursday, November 13.

Produced by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), the report indicates that Nigeria’s score worsened from 60 in 2023 to 62 in 2025, indicating growing interference from tobacco corporations in policymaking.

It shows that out of 100 countries assessed globally, Nigeria now ranks in the 54th position.

Covering April 2023 to March 2025, the report findings form part of the global civil society-led initiative grounded in Article 5.3 of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC), which warns that the interests of the tobacco industry and public health are irreconcilable.

The Index is part of a global project coordinated by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and aims to support governments and civil society in implementing Article 5.3 of the WHO-FCTC, which requires countries to protect public health policies from tobacco industry interference.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, November 13, CAPPA’s Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the Index exposes how the tobacco industry continues to exploit weak enforcement of Nigeria’s tobacco control laws to disguise itself as a partner in national development.

“Despite operating a business of addiction, disease, and death, tobacco companies continue to gain access – strategically and persistently – into Nigeria’s policy spaces.

“This year’s score of 62 confirms that industry interference remains a systemic threat to our public health architecture,” Oluwafemi said.

He noted that the industry’s so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, such as borehole donations, scholarships, and reforestation drives, are used to mask interference and buy legitimacy.

“These are not acts of generosity, but manipulation designed to whitewash an image built on addiction and profit.

“Even worse, government officials continue to attend and praise these events, helping the industry greenwash its deadly business,” the CAPPA boss said.

He stressed that the tobacco industry’s growing participation in policy discussions is “deeply troubling,” particularly regarding emerging nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, snus, and other novel products marketed as harm reduction tools.

“The tobacco industry is not a stakeholder in public health. Its interest is in selling more cigarettes, more nicotine, and more death and disease,” Oluwafemi maintained.

Acknowledging progress in some areas, Oluwafemi pointed to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) $110 million fine against British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) in 2023 and the National Film and Video Censors Board’s ban on the glamorisation of smoking in Nollywood as major wins.

He, however, lamented that the inconsistent policies, including the suspension of tobacco excise duties in 2023 that reversed earlier gains and weakened Nigeria’s alignment with WHO and ECOWAS tax standards.

“Nigeria cannot afford to take one step forward and two steps back. Strong laws mean little without consistent enforcement,” Oluwafemi urged.

In her presentation of the report, CAPPA’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, pointed out that the 2025 Index assessed seven key areas: policymaking participation, CSR, benefits to the industry, unnecessary interaction, transparency, conflict of interest, and preventive measures.

She said the worsening score reflects how “for every rule that should keep the industry out of policymaking, another action quietly lets it in.

“At 62 points, Nigeria’s interference score is a wake-up call. Our laws are strong, but their guardianship is weak. The state legislates against tobacco influence but legitimises it through partnership and praise.”

Recommendation:

The 2025 Index calls for urgent government action to strengthen policy independence and transparency in tobacco control.

CAPPA’s recommendations include enforcing full disclosure of all government interactions with tobacco companies, banning tobacco industry-led CSR across all public institutions, and strengthening conflict-of-interest safeguards requiring public officials to declare any personal or financial ties to tobacco companies.

Others are restoring a predictable, inflation-adjusted tobacco tax system aligned with WHO and ECOWAS standards, enforcing pictorial health warnings covering at least 60 per cent of tobacco packaging, institutionalising Article 5.3 training within the public service, and excluding tobacco companies from policy consultations and regulatory discussions, including those concerning emerging nicotine products.

“To safeguard one, we must disentangle completely from the other. There can be no middle ground between public health and corporate interest,” Ibeh added.

“What is at stake is not just the health of individual smokers but the health of our democracy – the ability of our public institutions to act independently of corporate capture,” Oluwafemi added, urging the Nigerian government to see tobacco control not only as a health priority but as a matter of governance and democracy.

Key findings include:

CSR as a Gateway: The British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) continues to partner with state ministries and local governments in defiance of national laws, using empowerment programmes as a “sophisticated strategy to embed itself in governance systems.”
Policy Reversal: The 2023 suspension of an increase in tobacco excise taxes weakened Nigeria’s fiscal and health response, shifting costs to citizens while protecting industry profits.
Political proximity persists: In the past two years, we have seen, for instance, the Oyo State Governor, Governor Seyi Makinde, frolic with the industry and grace their events. The symbolic power of such appearances far outweighs their ceremonial intent; they signal complicity.
Transparency Gaps: Despite Section 25 of the National Tobacco Control Act mandating disclosure of official interactions with the industry, most government agencies fail to make such information public.
Weak Preventive Systems: Few government officials have received training on Article 5.3 of the WHO-FCTC, leaving many unaware that participating in tobacco-funded events violates public health ethics.