As the world marks World Cancer on Friday, the Nigerian Cancer Society and the #SmokeFreeNollywood campaign have launched a public digital petition to Nollywood filmmakers to remove tobacco from Nigeria’s film industry.
This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the President, Nigerian Cancer Society, Adamu Alhassan Umar and Creative Director, #SmokeFreeNollywood, Ms. Esther Aghotor.
The statement stated that Adamu, through a video on Friday, said tobacco use is responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 Nigerians. He also explained that Nigerian movies influenced more than one-third of them to start the habit.
The statement read in part, “Many Nollywood films today contain smoking scenes that glamorise the use of tobacco products such as cigarettes and shisha, and unconsciously recruit viewers into damaging habits that harm their health.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of cancer. And cancer is responsible for the deaths of 70,000 Nigerians every year. About a third of smokers started this habit through the influence of movies. After all, if their favourite characters are comfortable using tobacco on screen, it feels safe and trendy, but it is not.
Tobacco kills up to half of its users and leaves others with a lifetime of health complications. Tobacco is responsible for lung, mouth, throat, bladder, kidney, liver, stomach, pancreas, oesophagus, larynx, colon, rectum, and cervix cancers. There is no safe or relaxed level of tobacco use.
As the Nigerian Cancer Society President, I call on Nollywood filmmakers, particularly, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime and distributors such as FilmOne, Genesis and Ebony Life, to remove tobacco use from movies. This call is in line with the NigerianTobacco Control Act that prohibits tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship”.
