Date Published: 05/10/10

The Tobacco Story:

Tobacco use, as you are aware has been implicated as the cause of various ailments and cancers, which have resulted in death of human beings all over the world, especially in developing Countries, like Nigeria. Research has shown that the mortality rate attributable to tobacco smoke far exceeds a combination of deaths from HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis put together. According to research conducted in 12 Government owned health facilities in Lagos State in 2006, 2 persons died daily in the state from a smoking related ailment, the figures have since escalated by 300% in the last 2 years.

Global statistics confirm the tragic trend of the prevalence of tobacco related diseases and mortality in Nigeria. According to World Health Organization’s statistics, 5.4 million people died of tobacco related diseases in 2006, about one death every 6.5 seconds. 8 million persons also died as a result of tobacco use in 2007 and by 2030, one in 6 people globally will die of a tobacco related disease. WHO estimates that 1 billion people would die from tobacco-related diseases this century. Of this number, 175 million people will die from tobacco related diseases before 2030. If unchecked, 80% of these deaths will be in Nigeria and other developing countries. (See: a copy of an extract from the WHO Report sourced from Mathers CD, Loncar D. of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Medicine 2006, 3(11):e442.) The reality of these facts is indeed mind boggling to say the least. It is imperative to understand that the risk of a tobacco related ailment is not limited to addicted smokers alone, unsuspecting 3 rd party smokers are also at greater risk from the incidence of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS).

The prevalence of tobacco smoking, especially among children and underaged persons, its grave impact on public health, the economy and revenue on account of tobacco related health expenditure have therefore become a growing concern to the Federal government and many states of Nigeria including Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Gombe and Lagos (which pioneered health care cost-recovery action against tobacco companies in Nigeria).

After several decades of tobacco companies’ crass conspiracy to conceal the adverse health effects of consuming the cigarettes produced and distributed by them, they now openly admit that cigarette is the only product, which if consumed as intended by the manufacturer, causes real danger to the consumer and eventual death. In an advertorial titled “There is More to our Business-BAT”, British American Tobacco declared through its own Corporate Communications Manager, Aliyu Ma’aji, -“We have long accepted that smoking is risky. Our view is that along with the pleasures of cigarette smoking come real risks of lung cancer, respiratory disease and heart disease” Thisday of Monday, September 2006, p. 40.

Despite tobacco companies’ full knowledge of the danger of smoking, they consistently design strategies to induce and addict young people into smoking habits. To undermine regulatory restrictions on outdoor advertising, tobacco companies now use branded personal gifts such as, colorful t-shirts, umbrellas, carryon bags and caps. The goal of tobacco companies’ marketing strategy is to present smoking as desirable, socially approved, safe and healthful, and widely practiced behavior among adults, whom children and young people want to emulate.With this more children smokers are recruited on a daily basis into smoking and half of the smokers initiated daily are unable to stop till death as a result of their addiction to nicotine (which is the addictive substance in cigarette). The content of each cigarette consumed by a smoker is specially designed to addict, making the smoker unable to quit the habit. This is achieved through the manipulation of the nicotine content of the cigarette.

The tobacco companies have also exploited the absence of age verification process to make tobacco more accessible to more young persons who take up smoking habits and become addicted.

Tobacco Companies’ Use of Dilatory Tactics to Prevent Eventual Liability in the Pending Lawsuit

Remarkably, tobacco companies’ resort to technical impediments is an industry-wide accepted strategy to delay the determination of all actions against the tobacco companies for damages on account of tobacco related injuries. Expectedly so, Phillip Morris International Inc in its 2009 Annual Report to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission expressed fear that its business faces significant governmental action to prevent the public health danger of tobacco products in Nigeria and noted that “litigation related to cigarette smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (“ETS”) could substantially reduce our profitability and could severely impair our liquidity”. The strategy therefore is to file the “various preliminary motion” to delay litigation outcome. (See: A copy of 5 th Defendant’s 2009 Annual Report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed on 26 th February, 2010 at 8.24a.m ET.)

R.J. Reynolds' general counsel also admitted in a 1988 internal memo as follows,

" [t]he aggressive posture we have taken... continues to make these cases extremely burdensome and expensive....To paraphrase General Patton, the way we won these cases was not by spending all of Reynolds' money, but by making that other son of a bitch spend all his." (See: the 1988 memo of R.J. Reynolds’ General Counsel (retrieved on April 24 th, 2009 from www.kazanlaw.com/verdicts/ articles/images/exb_d_sob.gif) .

The tobacco litigation in Nigeria is ongoing and we shall keep you abreast of its future proceedings.

You may please revert, should you require further information and clarification on the above or on our various campaigns and matters relating to tobacco control.

We thank you for the kind courtesies extended to us, while wishing you and your organization the very best in your reporting and future endeavors.

Kind regards,

FOR: THE COALITION AGAINST TOBACCO (CAT)

ONAOLAPO OLATOYOSI M.

National Coordinator,

COALITION AGAINST TOBACCO

234 - 1- 8023139205, 8052190794, 7268285

E - MAIL: toyosi@ coalitionagainsttobaccong.org, coalitionagainsttobaccong@ yahoo.com

Web site: www.coalitionagainsttobaccong. org