By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
Concerned by health hazard associated in the manufacture and use of Tobacco in Nigeria, a civil society organization, Civic Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, (CISLAC) has advocated for tax increase as an avenue to mitigate the health challenge.
CISLAC Senior Programme Officer Mr. Solomon Adoga made the suggestion at a Multi-Stakeholder Policy Dialogue on Tobacco Taxation in Bauchi.
Mr Solomon Adoga said imposing higher tax on the Tobacco companies would reducing the use and consumption of the product as well as the number of smokers in the country.
He said the benchmark for Tobacco taxation as recommended by the World Health Organisation, WHO was seventy percent of the retail price.
The Special Adviser to Bauchi State Governor on Agriculture, Dr Iliyasu Aliyu Gital advocated domestication of prohibiting smoking in public places.
Dr Gital who gave his personal experience of Tobacco use, said it took him a very long time to quit smoking and as soon as he did, the impact of his disengagement begin to show in his socio-economic activities.
During the dialogue, a panel discussion was conducted where a representative of each of the invited stakeholders to include State Ministry of Health, Board of Internal Revenue Service, the Media, Civil Society and Faith-Based Organisations were featured.
The Dialogue was organized by CISLAC, with support from Tax Justice Network Africa.
(Featured picture used above is for illustration purposes only)