Tobacco use and control in Nigeria and other African countries have received little attention relative to other regions like Asia and Latin America. This is due to the perceived low smoking prevalence in Africa compared to the more immediate need for interventions against infectious diseases. However, the trends are changing quickly. Economic growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) nearly tripled from an average of 1.7 percent in 80s and 90s to about 4.8 percent in the 2000s and 2010s, with Nigeria growing more than five-fold from 1.2 percent to 6.7 percent within the same period (World Bank, 2018). On a similar trend, albeit of lesser magnitude, is the smoking prevalence in Nigeria which grew from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 17.4 percent in 2015 (World Bank, 2017). A combination of rising incomes, population growth, media-driven social trends, and targeted advertisement by the tobacco industry are the key drivers of the rising prevalence in SSA.
Project Reports
January 22, 2019
A Scoping Study of Nigeria’s Tobacco Market and Policy Space
Tobacco use and control in Nigeria and other African countries have received little attention relative to other regions like Asia and Latin America. This is due to the perceived low smoking prevalence in Africa compared to the more immediate need for interventions against infectious diseases. However, the trends are changing quickly. Economic growth rate in […]
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Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 24)
Crude
oil price increased, in the week under review, to its highest price in 2016. Nigerias
bonny light increased by $1.38 from $48.02 per barrel on May 20, 2016 to $49.64
per barrel on May 27, 2016, while Brent crude was sold for $50 per
barrel on May 26, 2016. The catalyst for price gains in the period
under review is the supply-side contractions, with unplanned production shortages
in Nigeria, Canada and Iraq. The upward trend of prices may unlock
more supplies in subsequent weeks, but the OPEC meeting scheduled for June 2,
2016, could moderate the effect. Nigeria is expected to benefit from crude oil
price rising above the $38 per barrel benchmark. Unfortunately, supply
disruptions continue to negatively affect oil revenue and may have contributed
to the depletion of external reserve by over $153 millionthis
week. The federal government, in collaboration with relevant security agencies,
should find a lasting solution to the vandalism of oil pipelines and production
facilities.