A coalition of tobacco control organisations has called for the immediate recall of the National Tobacco Control Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, warning that the proposed legislation would weaken existing tobacco control measures and expose more Nigerians, especially young people, to tobacco and nicotine products.

The groups, in a joint statement issued on Thursday, urged the relevant committees of the National Assembly to recall the bill and called on President Bola Tinubu to withhold assent if it is transmitted to him.

The coalition argued that rather than strengthening regulation, the bill would dismantle key protections contained in the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, by creating a more permissive framework for electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches and other non-combustible tobacco products.

“The bill must not advance, regardless of its current administrative stage after passage through the National Assembly,” the coalition said.

The organisations said the amendment would reverse the public health principles underpinning the 2015 Act by granting newer tobacco and nicotine products freedoms denied conventional cigarettes.

“In one of its most embarrassing contradictions, the bill defines non-combustible products to include heated tobacco products, then defines tobacco products to exclude all non-combustible products. The legal effect is that a product containing actual tobacco would cease to be treated as a tobacco product merely because it is heated rather than burned,” the coalition stated.

According to the groups, the provision contradicts the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which recognises heated tobacco products as tobacco products that should be subject to comprehensive tobacco control measures.

They also faulted provisions that would permit tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship through what the bill describes as adult publications, point-of-sale promotions, online advertising and adult events.

The coalition argued that the definition of an adult publication as one with at least 50 per cent of readers above 18 years would still expose large numbers of children and teenagers to tobacco advertisements.

Citing UNICEF data, the groups said more than 60 per cent of Nigerians are below 30 years, over 70 per cent are under 35 years, while 43 per cent are aged 15 years or younger.

They also cited a Nigerian Communications Commission study showing that 93 per cent of surveyed children aged 11 to 16 and 45 per cent of those aged four to 10 accessed the internet using their own mobile phones.

“Against this reality, the supposed definition of ‘adult advertising’ would create a lawful route for tobacco and nicotine advertisements to reach young people through newspapers, magazines, blogs and digital platforms,” the coalition said.

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The organisations also opposed provisions permitting online sales, courier deliveries, retail displays and product sampling for non-combustible tobacco products.

“The industry could advertise online, display and sample products in shops, and deliver them to consumers’ homes. The assumption that the age verification checks mandated in the bill will protect children and vulnerables is laughable,” the coalition said.

The groups argued that Nigeria lacks the enforcement capacity to effectively monitor online advertisements, retail displays and home deliveries of tobacco and nicotine products.

They further expressed concern over provisions they said would weaken packaging requirements, reduce health warning obligations and create uncertainty around penalties for violations.

The coalition also criticised clauses allowing tobacco and nicotine companies to classify product information as trade secrets, saying the provisions would prevent independent researchers and public health experts from scrutinising product safety.

It warned that proposed powers allowing the Minister of Health to exempt certain products from statutory rules on undefined public interest grounds could encourage regulatory capture.

The organisations questioned the legislative process leading to the bill’s passage and demanded the publication of all committee reports, stakeholder memoranda, public hearing records, voting records and related documents.

They also urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to clarify whether it supported the bill and explain how its provisions align with Nigeria’s public health commitments and international treaty obligations.

The coalition maintained that all tobacco and nicotine products should remain subject to a single, robust regulatory framework, with advertising, promotion, sponsorship, retail displays, promotional sampling and remote sales prohibited.

It also called on health professionals, civil society organisations, development partners and the media c.

“This bill is a grave error. It must be recalled, rejected and stopped,” the coalition said.

The statement was signed by the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation in Africa, Gatefield Impact, Youth Coalition Against Cancer, Nigerian Cancer Society, Call Off Cancer Initiative, Association of Resident Doctors, Abuja, A New Thing International Foundation, Oncology Nursing Society of Nigeria, Development Initiative for Society Health, Centre for Youth Inclusion and Development, and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre.