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Alarming! At least 25,000 kids between 10-14yrs smoke tobacco everyday

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Alarming! At least 25,000 kids between 10-14yrs smoke tobacco everyday

A group known as the Tobacco Free Nigeria campaign says at least 25,000 Nigerian kids between 10 and 14 years use tobacco products daily.

The group’s campaign specialist, Ms Ebiuwa Uwagboe, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday regretted the sales of these products to the children by vendors.

She noted that teenage smokers were vulnerable to life-threatening diseases including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and reduced mental development.

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“Every day, a whooping 25,000 children in Nigeria between the ages of 10 and 14 years use tobacco products.

“This equates to 17 children smoking every one minute.

“This is a result of the relative ease of their access to cigarettes and other tobacco related products, which are sold to them by vendors.

“Children must be protected as they lack capacity and are often unwitting targets of the tobacco industry,” she said.

Despite laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors under age 18, Uwagboe maintained that the execution of such laws were as important as making them.

“While it is important to have the right laws, it is not enough. We need to enforce them now and ensure that the National Assembly passes the tobacco control regulations.

“This is what our campaign aims to do,” she added.

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