The Federal Executive
Council has approved the draft National Tobacco Control Bill that will be sent
to the National Assembly for promulgation into law.
The Bill recommends a
minimum of six months imprisonment of fifty thousand naira, or both for
individuals who smoke outside public places designated as smoking areas.
The Minister of Health,
Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu told newsmen after the weekly council’s meeting in Abuja
that the penalties for corporate offenders varied from one million naira to
five million and one year to two years imprisonment for the chief executives of
such firms.
He said all forms of
advertisement of Tobacco is totally banned under the proposed law, adding that while
the law forbids government from accepting gifts from tobacco companies, it also
bans the firms from sponsoring any public event.
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