Nigeria Content Online

Disturbed
by the seeming increase of substandard cigarettes in the country’s
markets despite several raids by it and other relevant regulatory
agencies, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) says it will soon bare
its fangs.

The Council read
the riot act to cigarettes merchants, threatening that those caught
would henceforth face the full weight of the law.

Abiodun Obimuyiwa,
head of public communications in the Council, said in a statement that
more stringent punishments would be meted out to those behind the
circulation of these “deadly products”.

The statement came
on the heels of its surveillance activities, which revealed the
existence and circulation of spotted Super King Cigarette in the north
west zone of the country.

“Markets within
Kano Metropolis had been raided and we will close in on the major
outlets of the distribution of the product nationwide,” Mr. Obimuyiwa
said.

While drawing the
attention of the marketers of the sub-standard product to the danger of
smoking spotted cigarette, the Council warned the marketers to “halt
the distribution of the spotted product and withdraw all packs that are
in the market place or face prosecution.”

Mr. Obimuyiwa
added, “Efforts to mop up those found in the markets are in top gear,
just as it seized the opportunity to alert Nigerian consumers of the
existence of the spotted cigarette, which has been found to be
deadlier.”

Experts said
consumption of substandard cigarette has grave health implications as
it contains high levels of a cancer-causing toxic metal picked up from
the soil the tobacco is grown in.

“Counterfeit
cigarettes that contain more than three times the usual levels of
arsenic and can cause vomiting and abnormal heart rhythms. There is
hardly a better way of delivering some carcinogens to the lungs than
smoking tobacco grown in contaminated environments. Counterfeit
cigarettes are substantially contaminated with toxic elements such as
arsenic and lead compared with genuine brands,” the statement said.

Fake cigarettes can
cause nausea and vomiting, abnormal heart rhythms, damage to blood
vessels and increase the risk of bladder, liver and prostate cancer,
among others.

Abubakar Mohammed,
a lecturer at the University of Abuja, said the impact is in two folds:
irreversible and reversible mental effects.

“These include
hallucination, delusion, illusion, complete madness, decay of teeth,
shortage of oxygen due to narrowing of lungs, and cancer of the bones.

Mr. Mohammed noted
that many Nigerians consume fake cigarettes ignorantly. There is
therefore, the need for proper consumer education to save consumers
from careless death.