Anna Okon
The British American Tobacco Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to the socio-economic development of Nigeria through its investments in the local manufacturing industry and development initiatives in the agricultural sector.
This declaration, which was made by the Legal and External Affairs Director, BAT, West Africa, Freddy Messanvi, came as the World Health Organisation launched its World No Tobacco Day campaign for the year with the themed ‘Tobacco: A threat to development’.
Messanvi, in a statement from BATN, said, “We are one of the leading industry manufacturers in Nigeria with initial investments of over $150m in our Ibadan factory and Zaria operations.
“We believe in the huge potential of the non-oil sector and as one of the nation’s non-oil foreign exchange earners, we support about 350,000 to 400,000 livelihoods directly and indirectly while building local capacity of our employees by exposing them to international best practices in environmental health and safety, corporate governance, standards of business conduct, principles of engagement, among others.
“With our strong ties in Nigeria and long-standing commitment to development, we believe in the value of a balanced, workable and evidence-based regulatory framework, which has been our position since 2015.
“Our objective ensures the effective implementation of reasonable and practical tobacco control measures, provided that these measures adequately combat smoking activity in a manner which is proportionate, not duplicating or contradicting existing laws, and does not unjustifiably limit any rights or objectives.
“It is important to note that for regulation to be effective, regulation must be very clear in terms of its set objectives to reduce the health impact of tobacco and should not leave the market open to illicit trading activities which ultimately become a threat to development.”
He maintained that as a responsible organisation, BATN would continue to abide by all laws of the country and support the effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Act through practicable regulations.
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