Tag: Nigeria

Authorities Crack Down on Single Stick Sales

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Authorities in Nigeria and Sri Lanka want to restrict sales of individual cigarettes to discourage smoking. Sales of single sticks are common in developing countries where many smokers are unable to afford packs.
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it will start confiscating cigarettes sold by the stick at the expiration of the moratorium given in the Tobacco Control Law, according to the Premium Times.
Scheduled to come into effect by mid-2021, new rules require tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in sealed and tamper-proof packaging, allowing law enforcement to easily spot illegally opened packs.
“Once it is tamper-proof, anybody who is selling by the sticks at that point is violating the law in a significant manner, and we will have absolutely no apologies in confiscating the products on their shelves,” said Babatunde Irukera, executive vice chairman of the FCCPC.
Sri Lanka, too, is drafting legislation banning the retail sale of individual cigarettes, reports News 1st, citing the country’s National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA).
“By drafting regulations to ban the retail sale of [single] cigarettes, those who cannot quit the habit of smoking will be compelled to purchase a full packet of cigarettes, which will contain 20 per pack,” said NATA Chairman Samadhi Rajapaksa. “Thereby, buying capacity will reduce, meaning, the tendency for smoking in the country could be brought down drastically by imposing a ban on retail sale of [single] cigarettes.”
Rajapaksa noted that about 110 people die daily due to the consumption of tobacco and alcohol in Sri Lanka. He also stated that consumers spend close to LKR1billion ($5.2 million) on tobacco and liquor daily.
February 23, 2021
Nigeria e-cig launch plan
British American Tobacco plans to launch its electronic cigarettes in Nigeria in the near future, according to a story in the Nation, relayed by the TMA.
Chris McAllister, MD of BAT Nigeria and West Africa, reportedly said the stability of the exchange rate and the revival of consumers’ purchasing power had given the company “the confidence to continue to invest in our state-of-the art factory in Ibadan and our recently commissioned West African headquarters in Lagos”.
He added that the company planned to launch “our world leading range of e-cigarettes in Nigeria in the near future”.
McAllister said the company was aware of the health risks of smoking and was investing in products that had the potential to reduce harm.
He said also that BAT Nigeria had worked with the government to reduce the illegal trade in tobacco from 80 percent to about 20 percent. This was the result of having a local manufacturing operation that stimulated a value chain of local businesses.
Commenting on an amendment to the excise tax law, under which the current ad-valorem tax rate will remain at 20 percent while an additional specific rate will be introduced over a three-year period, McAllister said there should be collaboration and consultation between relevant stakeholders for tax policies to be balanced and reasonable, reducing the potential for unintended consequences in respect of both the economy and wider government objectives.
July 17, 2018
Nigeria raises excise
New excise duties on tobacco and alcoholic beverages are due to take effect in Nigeria today, according to a story in The Premier Times.
The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, in March announced that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, had granted a 90-day period of grace to manufacturers of the products concerned.
Adeosun said the imposition of the new excise duties would be spread over three years, from 2018 to 2020 in order to moderate the impact of the price increases.
She said that the increases were aimed at raising government revenues, though she added that they would also reduce tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.
The Times reported that the new duty rate on tobacco was a combination of the existing ad-valorem base rate and a specific element. So, in addition to the 20 percent ad-valorem rate, this year each cigarette would be the subject of a one-naira specific rate – N20 per pack of 20.
The specific element is due to increase next year to N2 per cigarette, or N40 per pack; and in 2020 to N2.90 per cigarette or N58 per pack.
The director-general of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera, said the decision to increase excise duties was consistent with prevailing global practices.
Meanwhile, Akinbode Oluwafemi, the deputy executive director, Environmental Rights Action of Earth Nigeria, described the decision to increase the excise duty on tobacco as praise-worthy.
However, the president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Frank Jacobs, expressed fear that the proposed hike might lead to the closure of factories and loss of jobs.
June 4, 2018
New taxes opposed
A coalition of business organizations, the Business Renaissance Group (BRG), has called on Nigeria’s government to review recently-announced increases in excise duties on locally produced tobacco products, and wines and spirits, according to a story in The Vanguard.
The federal government announced on March 11 that the duty increases would be spread over the next three years, with the first going into effect on June 4.
The BRG is said to have demanded that the federal government revert to the previous taxes or come up with a compromise based on input from ‘critical stakeholders’.
A new approach was needed that would impact positively on the government, the industry and the general population, and ultimately provide further growth and development for the country.
Briefing journalist in Abuja, the chairman of the BRG, Mazi Omeife Omeife, said increasing excise duties was counterproductive in respect of the government’s job-creation policy. Such increases were going to lead to job losses and the further impoverishment of ordinary Nigerians.
The BRG has said that it will seek judicial redress if the government does not respond within 30 days.
April 18, 2018
Extra bans proposed
The Nigerian government is considering taking further steps to deter tobacco consumption, according to a story in The Sun.
The federal government was said to have expressed concern at what it sees as the high rate of tobacco consumption in the country.
About 5.6 percent of the population, comprising four million men and 500,000 women, consume about 20 billion cigarettes annually. Another 6.4 million people are said to be exposed to tobacco smoke.
In revealing these figures recently, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, outlined preventive measures that should be taken to reduce smoking.
These were said to include prohibiting smoking among people under 18 years of age, and banning smoking in parks, markets, restaurants and other public places.
Other suggested measures included a ban on the sale of cigarettes as single sticks, and restricting the sale of smokeless tobacco to packs with a minimum of 30 g.
Under the proposals, it would be illegal to sell or distribute tobacco products through the mail, the Internet or other online devices.
Adewole called on the security agencies and the Nigeria Customs Service to impose ‘stringent conditions’ on tobacco companies and sellers to discourage smoking in the country.
August 18, 2017
Companies on benefits
Photo by e.r.w.i.n.
Nigeria’s Federal High Court has ruled that a group is within its rights to demand information about benefits that tobacco companies received under an export expansion program, according to a story in the Daily Times relayed by the TMA.
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) had demand a response from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) about the tax waivers, grants and other benefits that tobacco companies, including BAT Nigeria (BATN), received under the Export Expansion Grant Scheme (EEGS) introduced in 2002.
ERA/FoEN had urged the NCS to release the information under the Freedom of Information Act.
ERA/FoEN is asking the NCS to make public information about the volume and brand names of cigarettes exported from and imported into Nigeria from 2002, and the companies and countries involved.
It wants to know by how much BATN benefited from the EEGS from 2004 to 2014 and the waivers or tax exemptions the company received from 2004. It is asking for information about the volume of leaf tobacco imported into Nigeria by BATN and the source of the leaf.
And it is demanding to know by how much other tobacco companies operating in Nigeria from 2004 benefited from tax waivers or grants.
February 22, 2017