FCFA's Position on Nigeria's Regulatory Framework for Tobacco and Alternative Nicotine Products

Lagos, Nigeria. 2 February 2025.

In 2024, FCFA engaged two policy processes that will shape how Nigeria regulates tobacco and alternative nicotine products: the National Tobacco Control Committee's review of the Tobacco Control Act, and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria's development of Nigerian Industrial Standards for e-cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products.

Our position is that Nigeria can protect public health and respect adult consumer autonomy at the same time.

At the National Tobacco Control Committee

In October 2024, FCFA attended the NATOCC public hearing by invitation and submitted a position paper on the review of Nigeria's Tobacco Control Act. Three points anchored our submission.

Reduced-risk products are not cigarettes. E-cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products do not rely on combustion. They deliver nicotine with substantially fewer toxicants than cigarette smoke. Regulating them under an identical framework collapses a distinction that consumers deserve to understand.

Over-regulation drives consumers toward illicit markets. Provisions in the draft bill, including restrictions on designated smoking areas and on communication with consenting adult consumers, risk pushing Nigerian smokers toward unregulated, untested products rather than toward safer alternatives.

Harm reduction works. Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Japan have reduced smoking prevalence by recognising the role of reduced-risk products. Nigeria's Global Adult Tobacco Survey shows that 82.4% of Nigerians know smoking causes serious illness and roughly 7 in 10 smokers are considering quitting. A regulated, less harmful pathway will save more Nigerian lives than prohibition will.

At the Standards Organisation of Nigeria

In December 2024, FCFA was invited into the SON Technical Committee on Tobacco and Similar Products as it developed three draft Nigerian Industrial Standards: for e-cigarettes, oral nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products.

FCFA's scope was the consumer needs and preferences position. Our written input addressed reduced exposure to harmful chemicals, alignment between harm reduction and broader public health goals, support for smokers unwilling or unable to quit, and the case for proportionate health warnings that reflect the actual risk profile of each product category.

Health warnings designed for combustible cigarettes, applied without modification to non-combustion alternatives, communicate inaccurate information to consumers and undermine the credibility of the framework itself. Warnings should be honest, evidence-based, and proportionate.

Why It Matters

Other African countries are watching Nigeria's process. The decisions made in NATOCC and at SON will influence regulatory direction across the continent.

FCFA's role in both processes is to make sure the consumer voice is in the room. Adults are capable of making informed decisions about legal products. The law should treat reduced-risk alternatives differently from cigarettes because the science treats them differently. And policy designed to protect Nigerians should not push them toward the illicit market.

We continue to engage policymakers, regulators, and standards bodies as these processes develop. Stakeholders interested in our full position paper or in collaboration on consumer-focused tobacco and nicotine policy across Africa can reach us at hello@thefcfa.org.