Don’t Accept Philip Morris COVID 19 Vaccine, CAPPA Cautions Nigerian Govt
CAPPA said that as signatory to the WHO’s first public health treaty - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) Nigeria should remain committed to its obligations including Article 5.3 which advised Parties to insulate their public health policy from the vested and commercial interests of the tobacco industry.
“In as much as we appreciate the Canadian government for supplying COVID-19 Vaccines to Nigeria, we urge our government to be circumspect and ensure the product is not the Philip Morris funded Covifend. An industry that kills its customers and the rest of us who are exposed to tobacco via secondhand smoke cannot lead the way in solving either the tobacco menace or the coronavirus pandemic. “
Oluwafemi explained that Philip Morris is primarily a manufacturer of lethal products and continues to actively oppose smoking reduction measures across the globe including in Nigeria where its executives through well publicized articles promote heated tobacco products as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Through an initiative called the Conrad Nigeria Challenge, Philip Morris-funded Foundation for Smokefree World (FSFW) supports young people in the education sector who are subtly brainwashed into believing that the tobacco company is socially responsible and a stakeholder in public good.