By Sunny Irakpo
As part of our efforts to sensitize all Nigerians on the health hazard of hard drugs consumption, we joined well-meaning Nigerians and the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) to educate all concerned citizens about the dangers inherent in smoking tobacco. The world marked the No Tobacco Day on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 and the campaign against tobacco consumption is still ongoing. Smoking is a global phenomenon and the rate at which people smoke tobacco is increasing rapidly. This calls for a serious thought and all hands must be on deck to inform and sensitize tobacco smokers to desist from it, most especially those that abuse tobacco regularly in Nigeria.
In our recent program in Bayelsa State , we exposed the youths to the disastrous outcomes of consuming any of the different hard drugs and substances that are in proliferation and tobacco isn’t exempted. The Silec Initiatives championing that course specifically religiously voiced that “you must not smoke your lives in flame, do not let your lives go up in smoke, and that you don’t need heroine to become heroes”.
In our contemporary society, tobacco has gone beyond smoking. These days, passive smoking, second and their hand smoking, e-cigarette and heated tobacco products are attributed to be amongst the causes of cancer.
How well do you take care of your organs? Your lungs, your kidney and your liver? Live and let others live. Let’s protect our environment. Tobacco apparently is a threat to our environment. It causes pollution, deforestation and water waste. Over 5 trillion cigarettes are produced annually and they pollute the environment every year.
Notably, Nigerians smokes over 2billion sticks of cigarettes in a year. That is according to Premium Times 5th June, 2018 reports that 4.5 million Nigerians smoke tobacco by extension Nigerians spent 7.45b naira on tobacco annually.
More than 25,000 children between age(10-14) are smokers of tobacco. same report have it that 150,000 children has died as a result of exposure to tobacco smoking.
Tobacco smoking has led many Nigerians to leave with health issues and battling with terminal sicknesses, and that for one dollar spent in tobacco smoking, three dollars is spent in treatment (Sicknesses)
It is on record that tobacco kill an average of 8 million people annually.
Many health experts all over the world are clamouring that everyday should be set aside as #NoTobaccoDay in order to save lives and protect our cherished environment.
Fellow Nigerians, this socially accepted drug consumption has become a pandemic and one of the biggest money making venture by global pharma companies. The sales and control of these drugs are very poor, hence, these drugs are found in the streets causing havoc to the psyche of unapproved users, the youths in particular.
At Silec Initiatives we are calling on all relevant stakeholders to join hands together by ensuring that our youths are saved from the use and abuse of tobacco so to save Nigeria from the various social malady and vices hindering our growth and development as a nation.
Amb. Sunny Irakpo is the Founder/President Silec Initiatives, Youth and Anti-drug Abuse Advocate, United States Government Sponsored Exchange Alumni, Certified by the UNDOC on Drug Prevention and Care Sensitization.
