Smoking In BBNaija Will Influence Our Youths Wrongly – NTCA

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, and Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, NTCA has come out to say urge NBC to ban smoking in BBNaija Season 6.

Philip Jakpor, CAPPA’s Director of Programmes recently revealed this via a statement, and Nigerians have been reacting.

According to him, the agency should definitely be hailed for prohibiting nudity on the show, but all that will be a waste if smoking is allowed to continue.

He added that smoking on the show has a big impression on the youths at a time the government is working to reduce smoking initiation.

His words, “And it is even worse at a period the country is battling with COVID -19 pandemic, since it has been established that smokers have greater possibility of developing complications or even death if they contract the coronavirus.”

“Sections 12(1) of the NTC Act define tobacco advertising and promotion to include ‘any form of commercial communication, recommendation, or action with the aim, effect, or likely effect of promoting a tobacco product or tobacco use directly or indirectly.”

“The section states that ‘no person shall promote or advertise tobacco or tobacco products in any form’.”

“Specifically, the guidelines for the implementation of Article 13 of the WHO-FCTC include a statement that the depiction of tobacco use in films is a form of promotion that influences tobacco use, particularly by young people.”

“The WHO states that movies and entertainment materials are the most veritable tools of the tobacco industry, which has been instrumental in the transfer of ideas and promotion of alternative lifestyles to kids.”

“The kids, generally impressionable, are enticed by what they see and are initiated into using tobacco products through advertising and subliminal promotion of smoking scenes in movies, music videos and product placements.”