RismadarVoice Reporters, July 30, 2026
The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, NTCA, has raised alarm over what it described as grossly inadequate government funding for tobacco control in the country, revealing that only about N28 million was allocated to the sector between 2023 and 2025.
The Public Relations Officer of NTCA, Emmanuel Onwuka, disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Calabar, stressing that the poor funding threatens the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and weakens the country’s fight against tobacco-related diseases.
He said, “The breakdown of domestic investment showed 4.7 million in 2023, N10 million in 2024 and N13 million in 2025. This is grossly inadequate considering the huge public health burden caused by tobacco use in Nigeria.”
He noted that the allocations stand in sharp contrast to Nigeria’s estimated N526.4 billion spent on treating tobacco-related illnesses in 2019 alone, according to data from the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa.
Citing the World Health Organisation (WHO, Onwuka said more than 3.5 million Nigerians currently use tobacco, while about 16,100 people die annually from tobacco-related diseases.
He lamented that key interventions such as enforcement of smoke-free laws, public awareness campaigns, cessation services, research and tobacco industry monitoring have remained largely dependent on international donor funding.
“Organisations like Bloomberg Philanthropies, Vital Strategies, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the WHO have sustained advocacy, policy reforms and implementation support in Nigeria,” he said.
Onwuka warned that with global development funding declining, Nigeria risks increased tobacco industry interference and worsening public health outcomes if domestic financing is not improved.
He urged the Federal Government to establish sustainable domestic financing by earmarking tobacco tax revenues exclusively for tobacco control programmes and enforcement. He cited Gabon, which allocates one per cent of tobacco tax revenues to tobacco control, and Côte d’Ivoire, which dedicates special tobacco levies to health programmes, as examples.
He added that dedicated funding would ensure consistent support for enforcement, public education, cessation services, research, institutional capacity and effective implementation of existing tobacco control laws.
Onwuka disclosed that NTCA, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids have been calling on government to increase annual funding to at least N300 million, adding that the proposed N300 million allocation would be a practical and cost-effective investment given the country’s rising healthcare costs, productivity losses and preventable deaths linked to tobacco consumption.
The NTCA spokesman called on the Federal Government, National Assembly and state governments to prioritise sustainable tobacco control financing, saying stronger investment would protect lives, reduce healthcare costs and improve national productivity.
“The Federal government should consider increasing annual funding to at least N300 million given the country’s rising healthcare costs, productivity losses and preventable deaths linked to tobacco consumption. This sum will help protect lives, reduce healthcare costs and improve national productivity”, he added.
