By Robert Egbe
When Americans in the 1920s began linking smoking with persistent cough, throat irritation, and other diseases, tobacco companies, fearful for their profits, launched a devious media blitz.
Using models posing as doctors, they falsely claimed that cigarettes were harmless or that certain brands were “safer” than others.
Nearly a century later, Big Tobacco, the world’s four largest transnational tobacco firms and their subsidiaries, remains deeply invested in duping consumers into believing its products are “less harmful.”
Fully aware of smoking’s deadly effects yet intoxicated by the enormous profits their poisons yield, the industry relentlessly invents new ways to stay in business.
Chief among its addictive “novel” offerings are electronic cigarettes (e‑cigarettes), also known as vapes, vape pens, or electronic nicotine‑delivery systems (ENDS).
These devices, the industry insists, are “safer alternatives”, whatever that means, even as it continues to mass‑produce, advertise, and sell traditional tobacco products by the billions each year.
In a bid to mainstream its latest scam, Big Tobacco now touts “World Vape Day,” celebrated on 30 May, to entice the public into embracing these toxic products.
Nigeria’s Growing Nicotine Epidemic
This push comes as Nigeria grapples with a rising nicotine crisis. Nicotine, highly addictive and, according to the American Lung Association, as habit‑forming as heroin or cocaine, lurks in nearly all e‑cigarettes.
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol produced by an e‑cigarette.
Though often mistaken for water vapour, this aerosol contains fine particles laced with toxic chemicals linked to heart disease, respiratory illness, and cancer.
While the industry markets vaping as a “tobacco‑harm‑reduction” (THR) tool, its real‑world impact tells a different story, one of addiction, health risks, and a dangerous gateway to smoking for young people.
In truth, Big Tobacco’s THR rhetoric is merely the latest trick in a decades‑long deception.
A Gateway to Cigarettes
For many, vaping is a stepping‑stone to smoking. Multiple studies confirm that adolescents who vape are far more likely to start using combustible tobacco.
One Australian report found that men aged 18–24 who vape have a 59 per cent higher chance of transitioning to smoking and are 33 per cent more likely to experiment with illicit drugs.
Even low‑level nicotine exposure can rewire the developing brain, heightening susceptibility to other substances.
Nigeria’s Emerging Vape Crisis
Research and anecdotal evidence show vaping’s rapid rise in Lagos and beyond. A Nigerian study reported lifetime vape use between 5.8 per cent and 19.8 per cent, with 11.8 per cent current users. Another Lagos‑based survey found 7.9 per cent had tried e‑cigarettes.
Most users are aged 15–35, driven by peer influence, alcohol use, and poly‑substance habits. Market gaps and weak regulation, especially on flavours and sales to minors, fan the flames.
Youth at Risk
Adolescents become nicotine‑dependent faster than adults. Beyond addiction, vaping damages respiratory health, exacerbates mental health issues, and can lead to broader substance misuse.
A UK study found teens spending seven‑plus hours daily on social media are four times more likely to vape.
In Nigeria, flavoured vapes and sleek devices make the habit appear harmless and trendy to teenagers.
Weak Regulations, Big Consequences
Nigeria currently allows the sale and use of vape products with minimal age checks, even in indoor public spaces.
Flavoured pods and disposables flood the market. Existing laws that protect minors from smoking do not explicitly cover vaping, creating a regulatory vacuum that fuels a youth‑nicotine crisis.
A Global Problem
Worldwide, young people who have ever used e‑cigarettes are seven times more likely to start smoking within a year. Disposable vapes, colourful, cheap, and youth‑friendly, now dominate markets in the UK and elsewhere.
In the United States, nearly 90 per cent of youth e‑cigarette users prefer flavoured products.
Environmental and health concerns have prompted outright vape bans in Australia and New Zealand and sparked similar debates in Canada and Ireland.
What Nigeria Can Do
1. Strengthen Policy and Regulation
Enforce 18+ age limits.
Ban flavoured and disposable vapes aimed at youth.
Extend indoor‑smoking bans to e‑cigarettes.
Reinstate and raise excise and ad valorem taxes on tobacco and vaping products.
Note: Nigeria’s 2022 tax plan raised ad valorem duty from 20 to 30 per cent and introduced a specific excise that would climb annually through 2024. Industry pressure led to a rollback in 2023, weakening deterrence. Restoring the 2022‑24 schedule is essential.
2. Boost Public Awareness
Fund mass‑media campaigns on nicotine addiction, youth brain damage, and respiratory harm. Equip parents and teachers to recognise vape devices and discuss risks with children.
3. Improve Research and Monitoring
Track youth‑vaping patterns, products, and health outcomes, and collaborate internationally on best practices.
4. Expand Youth Cessation Services
Provide accessible counselling and digital support to help young people quit nicotine.
A Call to Action
Every percentage, point rise in youth vaping represents thousands more lives at risk. Nigeria must act decisively, through regulation, education, and support, to shield its young people from addiction and keep the promise of a healthier future.
Robert Egbe is a tobacco‑control advocate at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
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