July 2003

In commemoration of the International Day Against Substance Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, People Against Drug Dependence & Ignorance (PADDI), has launched an advocacy campaign to encourage the Nigerian government to classify tobacco as a 'drug'. The campaign is focused on the Director General of the Nigerian National Agency for Food, Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) -- the Nigerian equivalent of the American FDA. According to PADDI,

"NAFDAC has recorded successes in tackling the scourge of adultrated and fake drugs in the Nigerian market. NAFDAC has also succeeded in regulating the availability and dispensation of drugs in Nigeria. PADDI believes that NAFDAC should now extend its successes and expertise to regulate the consumption of 'nicotine delivery devices' - otherwise known as cigarettes. By officially categorizing tobacco as a 'drug', its sale, consumption and marketing would be curtailed and monitored."

TAKE ACTION! Click on the link below to send a letter to NAFDAC's Director General (letter is prewritten, but we encourage you to take a minute or two to personalize it)

http://petition.globalink.org/view.php?code=nigeria

Recently Eze Eluchie, PADDI's Executive Director was on a one hour national television program, ISSUES on Minaj Broadcasting International (MBI). The topic was on treating tobacco as a drug. Read more of PADDI's public statements on this issue:

Press Release on International Day Against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking - PADDI Nigeria
(Address delivered by PADDI at a Media-NGO-Civil Society roundtable discussion)

Letter from PADDI to NAFDAC re: classifying tobacco as a 'drug'

Thank you in advance for supporting tobacco control efforts in Nigeria!

Essential Action
Global Partnerships for Tobacco Control
P.O. Box 19405 ~ Washington, DC 20036
Tel: +1 202-387-8030 ~ Fax: +1 202-234-5176
Email: tobacco@essential.org
www.essentialaction.org/tobacco