Stakeholders have urged Federal Government to urgently increase excise duties on tobacco products, warning that Nigeria risks becoming a dumping ground for cheap cigarettes if tax rates remain low.
Gatekeepers News reports that at a validation workshop in Abuja on the Tobacco Excise Tax Simulation (TETSiM) Report, convened by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), participants stressed that the country’s weak tax regime encourages high tobacco use among youths, deprives government of revenue, and allows multinational companies to make excessive profits.
Auwal Rafsanjani, CISLAC’s executive director, noted that although Nigeria adopted a mixed tax regime in 2018, the rates remain too minimal to influence consumption.
He warned “In comparison to other West African countries, Nigeria still has one of the lowest tobacco tax rates. With regional trade liberalisation, the country can easily become a dumping ground for tobacco products.”
Rafsanjani added that the Tobacco Excise Tax Simulation report offers policymakers scenarios to guide decisions ahead of the expiry of the current regime in May 2025.
He said, “As expressed in Article 6 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, price and tax measures are the most cost-effective measures for tobacco control.”
“These effective systems can drive down affordability, reduce initiation especially among children and youth, cut down health and social costs of tobacco use, and also boost government revenue for development.”
The CISLAC executive director argued that with current low tax rates, tobacco companies can easily absorb the costs without passing them to consumers, keeping products cheap and widely accessible.
Sarah Bwala, who represented the Ministry of Finance, acknowledged the gaps and assured that the government is working to revise excisable goods policy in line with ECOWAS directives.
She said, “This validation workshop comes at a critical time as Nigeria undertakes a comprehensive review. Our focus is not only on revenue generation but also on protecting public health.”
Prof. Corne Walbeek, Director of the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) at the University of Cape Town, said tobacco kills about half of its regular users, causing eight million deaths globally each year.
He said, “If you want to make a real difference to public health and the fiscal situation, go for a big tax increase. We recommend at least a 150 per cent hike in the first year, followed by 30–40 per cent increases.”
“At the moment, Nigeria’s excise tax is just 30 per cent against the ECOWAS minimum of 50 per cent, while the specific tax per pack is only six to seven cents instead of 40 cents. That’s a huge gap.”
Also speaking, John Thomi, Policy Officer at the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), dismissed claims by tobacco companies that higher taxes would lead to job losses.
He said, “The scare tactic of job losses should not derail this critical reform. Evidence shows reducing tobacco consumption makes populations healthier and redirects consumer spending to other sectors, sustaining jobs elsewhere.”
