Take Action: Categorize Tobacco as a 'Drug' in NIGERIA

[Anna White]

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Take Action: Categorize Tobacco as a 'Drug' in NIGERIA!
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Dear Friends,

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 officially 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)
     http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/letter/ng0307/press.html

     Letter from PADDI to NAFDAC re: classifying tobacco as a
     'drug'
     http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/letter/ng0307/letter.html

Additional information on this topic will be added to Essential Action's
website, as it becomes available:
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/letter/ng0307/

On behalf of PADDI, thank you in advance for supporting tobacco control
efforts in Nigeria!
Anna

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