Cigarette smokers in Ekiti State are in for hard times, with the inauguration of a committee to enforce the law against smoking in public places. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.
•Ekiti goes tough on smokers
The noose of the law has been tightened on cigarette smokers in Ekiti State with the inauguration of Ekiti State Smoke-Free Law Enforcement Committee.
A three-month prison sentence awaits anyone caught smoking in public places as the war against illegal use of tobacco gathers steam in the Fountain of Knowledge.
Security agencies like the Police, Civil Defence Corps, Environmental Health Officers have been empowered by law to arrest culprits and ensure that they are brought to justice.
The law established the fact that offences shall be summarily tried.
The move was aimed at giving legal teeth to the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Law passed by the House of Assembly on 26th September, 2012 and assented to by the former Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on 31st December, 2012.
The enforcement committee which has members drawn from government, non-governmental organizations, security agencies and private sectors has since swung into action to ensure arrest and prosecution of offenders.
The advocacy was driven by a non-governmental organization based in Ado-Ekiti, the New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), which was established in 1998 and driven by a commitment and vision of a peaceful world where all people have equal rights and opportunities.
NISD has over the years collaborated with various development partners in its core themes of Violence Against Women, Good Governance, Child Development, Health and Sanitation, Capacity Building, Provision of Free Legal Services to Women, Budget Monitoring and Provision of Qualitative Care and Support Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, among others.
The organization had in July 2013 in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) embarked on a project to strengthen implementation and enforcement of Ekiti State Law on Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places and mobilizing support for the passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill.
These were borne out of its concern on the deadly effects of smoking in public places and the fact that tobacco use is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease presently causing nearly 6 million deaths globally each year.
The concern was further raised by the discovery of the fact that tobacco is expected to cause 8 million deaths annually by 2030 with 80 per cent of these premature deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Statistics also revealed that 600,000 people die globally each year from the effects of Second-hand Smoke (SHS) which is the tobacco smoke that is inhaled involuntarily and passively by someone who is not smoking.
Non-smokers exposed to SHS exposed have a 25-30 per cent higher risk of coronary heart disease than do non-smokers who are not exposed to SHS.
It is believed that exposure to SHS occurs mainly in work places, homes, public places and private vehicles.
According to the results of the first Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) released on 11th July, 2013, 2.7 million Nigerians were exposed to SHS in public places; 5.2 million at home; 36 per cent of adults when visiting cafes/coffee shops and tea houses and 8 in 10 adults were exposed when visiting restaurants.
Also, 16.7 per cent of adults were exposed to SHS when visiting government buildings, 9.4 per cent using public transportation and 5.3 per cent when visiting healthcare facilities.
It is against this backdrop that the fight against smoking in public places is being stepped up in Ekiti State to protect public health and prevent deaths of smokers and non-smokers alike.
Delivering his address at the occasion, the Executive Director of NISD, Mr. Abiodun Oyeleye, explained that the tobacco epidemic has adverse impact on public health of developing countries including Nigeria.
He said: “Tobacco use is a major cause of premature death and disability, mostly affecting our economically-productive population in both urban and rural communities.
“In Nigeria, tobacco use will soon surpass all other risk factors combined as major etiological agents of premature death and disability unless strong policies are put in place to dissuade from starting its use, while encouraging users to quit.
“Tobacco fumes inhaled by non-smokers wreak more havoc on the human system than an active smoker.
“The fumes alone contain at least over 7,000 chemicals of which at least 69 of them are toxic such as carbon monoxide, arsenic, polonium, butane, benzene, acetone, ammonia, methane, and so on.
“Even brief exposure to tobacco fumes is harmful. Just 30 minutes of exposure increases the risk of heart disease. Exposure in persons with asthma can trigger a life- threatening event.”
He explained that awareness has been created among various stakeholders such as religious and political leaders, hoteliers associations, drivers’ unions, youths, women, senior government officials, ministries, departments and agencies.
According to Section 3 of the Law, public places where smoking is now prohibited in Ekiti State include any part of an enclosed or partially enclosed public places or workplace, a government school or a registered independent school, facilities where health care services are provided; sports, athletics or recreational facilities, state government buildings and any other places prescribed by the government of Nigeria, and there shall be no access to tobacco products within the 500 meters radius of such facilities.
Also included are offices and workplaces including corridors, lounges, eating areas, reception areas, lifts, escalators, foyers, stairways, toilets, sundries, court buildings, factories, cinema halls, theatres, video houses, such other halls or places of performance, discotheques, or any other entertainment facilities during which it is open to the public.
Others are hospitals, clinics and other health institutions, restaurants, hotels, bars of eating places, children homes, residential houses and such other premises where children are cared for, places of worship, prisons, police stations and cells, airports, airfields and aircrafts, passengers’ ships, commuter boats, trains, passengers’ vehicles, ferries, railway stations, ports, motor parks, public transport terminals and all kinds of public transportation.
Smoking is also outlawed in educational facilities, libraries and schools, markets, shopping malls, retail and wholesale establishments, amusement oars, stadia, sports and recreational facilities, public buildings and gardens, private vehicles with non-smoking occupants or persons below the age of eighteen.
Punishment for contravention of the Law is found in Section 6 with any person who contravenes any of the provisions of the Law other than Section 3 liable on conviction to a fine of ten thousand Naira (N10,000.00) or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.
A fine of twenty five thousand Naira (N25,000.00) or to an imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both awaits any offender who contravenes any of the provision of Section 3 of the Law.
The Law further prescribes a punishment of N250,000.00 for the violation of sub-section (1) or (2) stated above if it be a corporate offender.
The inauguration of Ekiti State Smoke-Free Enforcement Committee was performed on behalf of the state government by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr. Bolanle Fakunle.
Dr. Fakunle, who is a medical practitioner is the Chairperson of the Committee saddled with the arduous task of putting a stop to smoking in public places in the state.
Members of the Committee are Mr. Lawrence Ojo, Permanent Secretary/Solicitor General, Ministry of Justice; Mr. P.A. Bankole of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. M.T.Olowolafe, president of the Environmental Task Force in all the 16 Local Government Areas and Mrs. O.O. Kayode Ojo, Director of Administration and Supply, Ministry of Environment.
The rest are Mr. Kunle Olofintuyi of the National Orientation Agency, Mr. Taiwo Omoniyi of Ekiti State Hoteliers Association, Mr. Tope Babalola of the Ministry of Information, Youth and Sports, Mr. Tunde Balogun, the Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation, Mr. Oyeleye of NISD and representative of the Ekiti State Police Command.
Delivering her keynote address, Dr. Fakunle said her ministry and NISD are collaborating with relevant MDAs and organizations to ensure compliance with the law.
She restated the commitment of the state government to ensure that the law is complied with to guarantee a safer environment and promote public health.
Dr. Fakunle said: “The harmful effect of smoking extends far beyond the smoker to second-hand smoke.
“Non-smokers are exposed to second-hand smoke at work or in other public places thereby increasing their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30 per cent and lung cancer by 20-30 per cent.
“Also second-hand smoke causes health problems in both adults and children such as coughing, overproduction of phlegm, reduce lung function and respiratory infection including pneumonia and bronchitis.
“The passage of the law on prohibition of smoking in public places in Ekiti State is not actually directed at stopping people from cigarette smoking but to prevent people from smoking cigarettes in public places because of the detrimental effects on non-smokers’ health.
“Participants are to note that smoking of cigarettes in some parts of the world is done in designated places.
“It is imperative to note that Ekiti State is committed to protecting and ensuring quality environment, which is adequate for good health and well-being for present and future generations.
“I therefore seize this medium to encourage the committee members to see the task before them as a crucial assignment that must be handled with serious dedication towards achieving the desired goal.”
With the anti-smoking law in public places enforcement committee in place, smokers in Ekiti State are now expected to restrict the act indoors to avoid going to jail.
Smokers who are in transit in Ekiti State should also take note because to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
