Stemming tobacco addiction in Nigeria: National programme on tobacco cessation is a necessity and never an option

Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi1,2,3*, Precious Ayomide Kanmodi1,2,4
1Tobacco Research and Advocacy Group, Cephas Health Research Initiative Inc, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2Mental and Oral Health Development Organization, Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria.
3Department of Community Health, Aminu Musa Habib College of Health Science and Technology, Yauri, Nigeria.
4Department of Statistics, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
*Correspondence: Dr. Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi; kanmodikehinde@yahoo.com

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Keywords: Tobacco, Control, Cessation, National programme, Need, Nigeria.
Yen Med J. 2020;2(3):5–6.

Cite this article: Kanmodi KK, Kanmodi PA. Stemming tobacco addiction in Nigeria: National programme on tobacco cessation is a necessity and never an option. Yen Med J. 2020;2(3):5–6.

Dear Editor,

Tobacco use is an addictive behaviour that is bedevilling the world for so many years.1,2 Not only is tobacco use an addictive behaviour, but a leading cause of deaths globally, claiming the lives of 8 million people on yearly basis.1

Due to the high prevalence rate of tobacco use, the World Health Organization considered tobacco use as an epidemic of serious public health concern.3 Also, in the course of the global battle against the heavy burden of tobacco use epidemic, some developed countries in the world had developed multi-year funded national public health programmes targeted at preventing tobacco use at all levels of prevention; these programmes are currently being implemented in these countries.4-6 For tobacco use prevention at the primary level, non-users of tobacco are given enlightenment about the dangers associated with the use of tobacco and its products. Those programmes targeted at the secondary prevention of tobacco use include the tobacco cessation programme; this programme is used to assist users of tobacco and its products in quitting habits of tobacco use.4,5 For example, in the USA, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had since established a multi-year funded programme on tobacco cessation, with the aim of reducing the burden of tobacco addiction and other tobacco-induced diseases in the USA.5

However, in Nigeria, it is very difficult to say that a well-structured, functional, and effective national programme targeted at tobacco cessation among users of tobacco in Nigeria really exists.7 Unfortunately, the burden of tobacco use in Nigeria cuts across all decades of life, making it a huge monster to tackle.8

Having an effective and well-funded national programme on tobacco cessation is of huge benefits to the Nigerian populace, as significant increase in tobacco cessation rates had been recorded in those countries where such programmes are well-funded and effective.9 With the rising burden of tobacco users in Nigeria on yearly basis, having such programme, functioning effectively in Nigeria, is a necessity and never an option.10

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Authors have none to declare.

FUNDING

This study was self-funded.

REFERENCES

  1. Tobacco. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco. Accessed January 25, 2020.
  2. Janik P, Kosticova M, Prof JP, Turcek M. Categorization of psychoactive substances into “hard drugs” and “soft drugs”: a critical review of terminology used in current scientific literature. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2017; 43(6):636-646.
  3. WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/326043/9789241516204-eng.pdf?ua=1. Accessed January 25, 2020.
  1. Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. National Tobacco Control Program. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/stateandcommunity/tobacco_control_programs/ntcp/index.htm.  Accessed April 20, 2020. 
  1. Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Quit smoking. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/index.htm. Accessed April 20, 2020. 
  1. Tobacco Control Plan, Delivery Plan 2017 to 2022. Department of Health and Social Care (UK). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714365/tobacco-control-delivery-plan-2017-to-2022.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2020. 
  1. Nwafor NJ, Kanmodi KK, Omoleke SA, Enaibe TW. Knowledge of shisha and attitudes toward clinical counseling of shisha smokers amongst doctors: Nigerian study. Med J Zambia. 2020; 47(1):16-24.
  2. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Drug use in Nigeria, 2018. Vienna: UNODC, 2018. https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Drugs/Drug_Use_Survey_Nigeria_2019_BOOK.pdf. Accessed April 20, 2020.
  1. Nethan ST, Sinha DN, Chandan K, Mehrotra R. Smokeless tobacco cessation interventions: A systematic review. Indian J Med Res. 2018;148(4):396-410. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1983_17.
  1. Adeloye D, Auta A, Fawibe A, Gadanya M, Ezeigwe N, Mpazanje RG, et al. Current prevalence pattern of tobacco smoking in Nigeria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1719. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-8010-8.

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