Nigeria is in the process of finalising standards for alternative nicotine products — the category that includes nicotine pouches, vaping devices, and heated-tobacco products that adult smokers can switch to in place of combustible cigarettes. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment are the agencies setting the technical rules, including how these products must be labelled.
FCFA's position, submitted formally as part of the standards-setting process and at the National Tobacco Control Act public hearing in Abuja, is straightforward: warning requirements for safer alternatives should reflect the actual risk profile of the product being regulated. They should not be copied wholesale from the rules that govern combustible cigarettes.
This is not a small distinction. Internationally, public health bodies that have studied alternative nicotine products — including in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and New Zealand — have concluded that switching from cigarettes to lower-risk alternatives substantially reduces harm to the individual smoker. The policy implication is that regulation should make the safer option recognisable as safer. When a product that is materially less harmful than a cigarette carries warning language identical to a cigarette, adult smokers receive no signal to switch. Many continue smoking.
There is a legitimate role for consumer warnings on alternative products. Nicotine itself is addictive, these products are not appropriate for non-smokers or minors, and consumers should be informed of what they are using. FCFA does not dispute that. What we dispute is the assumption that the same warning regime developed for combustible tobacco — a product that kills roughly half its long-term users — is the right regime for products that exist precisely to help adults move away from combustible tobacco.
The economic dimension matters too. Nigeria has a large adult smoking population and a significant informal market. Warning rules that make legal, regulated alternatives appear indistinguishable from cigarettes do not eliminate demand for nicotine. They push consumers toward the unregulated supply, where there are no warning labels at all. Proportionate, risk-based labelling protects consumers more effectively than uniform labelling that treats all nicotine products as equivalent.
FCFA has urged SON and the Ministry to adopt warning standards that distinguish between product categories, communicate relative risk accurately to adult consumers, and remain consistent with the evidence base that has emerged internationally over the past decade. We will continue to engage on this and related questions as the standards are finalised.
FCFA's submissions on alternative product warning standards were made to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the National Tobacco Control Act public hearing process between October 2024 and February 2025. Funders, journalists, and partners who would like to discuss FCFA's policy positions on tobacco harm reduction can reach us through the partnerships contact form.