The Ekiti State Government has partnered with the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa to strengthen tobacco control advocacy and tackle the growing use of tobacco and nicotine products among residents, particularly young people.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement held in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, to commemorate the 2026 World No Tobacco Day, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Sola Gbenga-Igotun, expressed concern over the increasing exposure of children and youths to tobacco and emerging nicotine products.
The event, themed “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” was organised by the ministry in collaboration with CAPPA.
Gbenga-Igotun described tobacco and nicotine use as a serious threat to public health and called on stakeholders to intensify efforts to curb the trend.
“It is destroying our future. We must all become advocates and speak out against it. This is happening around us and affecting our young people. We must take action,” she said.
She urged parents and guardians to be more vigilant, warning that many nicotine products are odourless and difficult to detect.
“Some children as young as seven, eight and nine years old are already victims. Some are smoking these products, and because many of them are odourless, parents may not even know,” she added.
The Director of Public Health in the ministry, Dr Abayomi Ibrahim, disclosed that the state government plans to review its tobacco control framework to address emerging tobacco and nicotine products such as shisha and e-cigarettes.
He highlighted milestones achieved by the state, including the enactment of the 2012 Smoke-Free Law, which prohibits smoking in public places, and the Ado Ekiti Declaration of 2025, which designated the state capital as a smoke-free city.
Despite the progress, Ibrahim identified weak enforcement, inadequate funding, increasing youth attraction to nicotine products, tobacco industry interference and limited data as major challenges confronting tobacco control efforts.
He advocated stronger enforcement through the training of health officials and law enforcement officers, dedicated funding for tobacco control programmes and expanded youth-focused interventions, including school-based awareness campaigns and peer education initiatives.
Ibrahim also called for deeper community engagement involving traditional and religious leaders, as well as improved monitoring and evaluation systems.
Speaking on behalf of CAPPA, the organisation’s Assistant Executive Director, Zikora Ibeh, commended Ekiti State for its commitment to tobacco control and maintaining its smoke-free status.
She warned that tobacco companies are increasingly targeting young people through the promotion of alternative nicotine products.
“Today, the tobacco industry is selling nicotine in different forms and devices. Products such as vapes and nicotine pouches are aggressively marketed online and offline, often in colourful packages and sweet flavours designed to attract young people,” she said.
According to her, such marketing strategies are aimed at recruiting new users and sustaining addiction.
Ibeh urged authorities to strengthen regulations governing vaping and other emerging nicotine products to protect young people from addiction and its health consequences.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Mrs Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Sunday Omoya, stressed the need for collective action to combat tobacco and nicotine use.
“We must expose whatever makes these products appealing. Smoking is harmful to health and should not be encouraged. Our ministry will continue to support efforts aimed at addressing this challenge,” he said.
The event attracted representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, security agencies, environmental health officers and officials of Ado Ekiti Local Government.
Tobacco use remains one of the leading preventable causes of death globally. In recent years, public health experts have raised concerns over the growing popularity of emerging nicotine products such as e-cigarettes, vapes and nicotine pouches among young people.
Ekiti state’s collaboration with CAPPA is part of efforts to strengthen tobacco control measures and protect residents, especially children and youths, from the dangers of nicotine addiction.