Nigerian entertainment sector supports FG’s Tobacco control act, regulations

Concerned about the growing evidence linking the entertainment industry with the uptick of tobacco use and worried by its impact on public health, the Nigerian entertainment industry has drummed support for the regulation and control of tobacco usage in the country.

At a One-Day Stakeholder Roundtable on the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and the National Tobacco Control Regulations 2019 as they relate to smoking in movies, organised by National Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB) with technical support from Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), stakeholders agreed that the entertainment industry is an important tool of public awareness, hence the need for stakeholders to promote the awareness on the dangers of smoking in movies and the entertainment sector in the digital media space, which is relatively low.

In a communique at the end of the engagement and read by the Executive Director/CEO, NFVCB, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, it was agreed that the Board will increase its awareness creation and education among relevant stakeholders in the movies and entertainment sectors to ensure compliance with national laws especially the NTC Act 2015 and the NTC Regulations 2019 in relation to the ban on tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorships.

NFVCB also pledged to ensure that all practitioners henceforth adhere to the relevant laws of Nigeria particularly as it pertains to smoking in movies in their film productions while noting that the board, whose mandate is to provide an enabling environment for the growth of the film industry through its activities, would continue to work with relevant practitioners and experts to put in place adequate measures to ensure the environment remains conducive.

Therefore, the Board would sustain its engagements and consultation with relevant stakeholders in the movie and entertainment sector to ensure film classifications are appropriate and up to date, also it would prioritize classification of movies with smoking scenes and tobacco depiction.

The board noted that since it operationalisation of the Tobacco Control Fund would open opportunities for movies and entertainment sector operators to play crucial roles in awareness creation and sensitization in relation to smoking in movies, it would be appropriate that the NFVCB and practitioners be adequately represented in the operationalisation of the fund.

The meeting brought together regulators and a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the movies and entertainment sector including producers, scriptwriters, distributors and exhibitors as well as veteran and current actors and actresses.

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Nigerian entertainment sector supports FG’s Tobacco control act, regulations