Some medical practitioners have stressed the need for the Federal Government to pass a bill banning smoking in public places.
The Lagos State House of Assembly had recently passed a bill against smoking in public places, which the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, signed into law.
Like the Lagos State law, which prohibits smoking in such areas as restaurants, bars, airports, cinemas, museums, public toilets, libraries, nurseries, and day-care centres, with a penalty of up to three months in prison, some medical doctors have said it is crucial for such a law to be enacted at national level.
Prof. Fatima Abdulkareem, Head of Department, Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, told our correspondent it was necessary for the Federal Government to curb smoking, given the low life expectancy of Nigerians.
She said, “The life expectancy of Nigerians is 48 years. If the life expectancy of the average Nigerian is less than 50, and we know that smokers are liable to die young, you can just imagine the risk our longevity.
“It is not only the smoker that suffers, but the populace, because the content of smoke in the air we breathe also constitutes a risk for the others that are not smoking.”
She explained that there were many diseases attributed to smoking, which the law would help prevent.
“Apart from cancer of the lungs, it is associated with most cases of cancers. It is also associated with eye problems, like cataract. It is associated with vascular diseases and several other diseases have been associated with smoking.
“So I think the Federal Government should take a cue from Lagos State and enact the same law. It will be of benefit to all of us,” she said.
A cardiothoracic surgeon at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Dr. Akin Ogunrombi, told SUNDAY PUNCH that smoking-related conditions were fatal and needed to be controlled, or stopped.
“We need to nip this problem in the bud. We need to catch it early. What the Lagos State government has done is what is done abroad. You are not allowed to smoke indiscriminately, especially where people are gathered, in a large public area.
“Even in restaurants, where people sit down to eat, you have the smoking section, a room you can go into. I think it should become an important law that should be enforced nationwide. It should prevent people from smoking just anyhow and anywhere,” the respiratory specialist said.
He enumerated a number of cancers caused by smoking, including cancers of the lungs, mouth, lips, throat, larynx, oesophagus, bladder, kidneys, and the liver. He added that those who did not smoke, but were exposed to the fumes, had a 25 per cent chance of having lung cancer.
Dr. Akin Akinyede of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, also agreed that the Federal Government needed to pass the National Tobacco Control Bill, first proposed in 2009.
The bill, which is aimed at domesticating the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, has scaled through the first and second readings at the House of Representatives, while it has passed the first reading at the Senate.
Copyright PUNCH.
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