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•How nicotine firms are hooking new generation of Nigerians
By Lukman Olabiyi
Behind the bright colours, fruity flavours and sleek designs of modern nicotine products lies a growing public health threat that experts warn is quietly gaining ground across Nigeria.
As the world marked this year’s World No Tobacco Day, under the theme “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” health advocates, medical professionals and civil society groups raise concerns over what they describe as the tobacco industry’s latest strategy to recruit a new generation of nicotine users.
At the heart of the concern is the rapid rise of vapes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco products and other emerging nicotine devices. Though marketed as trendy, modern and less harmful alternatives to cigarettes, campaigners say the products are carefully designed to attract young people and create lifelong nicotine dependence.
Speaking at a conference in Lagos, the executive girector of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Mr. AkinbodeOluwafemi, said the tobacco industry has simply reinvented itself in response to growing public awareness about the dangers of smoking.
“For decades, tobacco products disguised addiction as sophistication, freedom, success and modernity. Today, the industry has changed its language, packaging and products, but its objective remains the same: to maximise profit through addiction,” he said.
According to him, tobacco companies that once promoted cigarettes using terms such as “ultra-light” and “low nicotine” now market products under labels including “smoke-free,” “clean nicotine,” “harm reduction” and “tobacco-free.”
Yet health experts insist that beneath the new branding lies the same addictive substance.
Oluwafemi revealed that CAPPA’s investigations uncovered more than 500 emerging nicotine product brands currently being sold across Nigeria through supermarkets, convenience stores and online platforms.
Many of the products are packaged in eye-catching colours and offered in flavours such as mango, strawberry, bubble gum, mint and vanilla.
“The industry is deliberately targeting our children, students and young people to become the next generation of nicotine addicts,” he warned.
The concerns are detailed in CAPPA’s report, New Smoke Trap: New and Emerging Nicotine and Tobacco Products, Youth Exposure and Policy Gaps in Nigeria, which documented hundreds of nicotine products circulating in Lagos, Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory.
The report found that many of the devices resemble everyday items such as pens, flash drives, cosmetics and electronic gadgets, making them easy to conceal from parents, teachers and even law enforcement officials.
Assistant executive director of CAPPA, Ms. Zikora Ibe, described the trend as a calculated marketing strategy designed to lower resistance among potential users.
“These products are intentionally designed to appear attractive, convenient and socially acceptable,” she said.
According to her, flavours have become one of the industry’s most effective recruitment tools.
“The industry understands that young people are naturally drawn to novelty, identity and experimentation. These flavours are not harmless preferences; they are entry points into addiction,”she explained.
The held that research participants interviewed during the study admitted that attractive flavours and lifestyle-driven advertising influenced their decision to experiment with nicotine products, often before developing dependence.
Medical experts say the consequences are already becoming visible.
Public health physician, Dr. Goke Akinrogunde, described nicotine addiction as an emerging health crisis increasingly affecting younger Nigerians.
He disclosed that cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a debilitating lung condition traditionally associated with long-term smoking are now being diagnosed among teenagers and young adults.
“We are beginning to see health conditions that were previously uncommon among young people,” he said.
According to Akinrogunde, nicotine stimulates dopamine release in the brain, producing feelings of pleasure and relaxation that gradually create dependence.
“At some point, it is no longer a casual habit. The body begins to crave nicotine, and that is when addiction takes hold,” he explained.
He estimated that tobacco-related illnesses contribute to about 29,000 deaths annually in Nigeria, while millions continue to use tobacco and nicotine products.
CAPPA expressed concern over the growing circulation of images showing cigar smoking at high-profile social and cultural events, including the popular Ojude Oba Festival.
According to Oluwafemi, repeated portrayals of smoking as a symbol of wealth, prestige and success risk undoing decades of public health advocacy.
“Our culture must never become a vehicle for promoting tobacco addiction,” he said.
The organisation also criticised attempts by tobacco interests to promote “World Vape Day” as a counter-message to the World No Tobacco Day backed by the World Health Organization.
Describing the campaign as misleading, he argued that it forms part of a broader effort to reposition the tobacco industry as a public health partner despite its controversial history.
“We must not allow history to repeat itself. The same industry that once denied the harmful effects of smoking now wants to present itself as a trusted public health partner,”he said.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s progress through the National Tobacco Control Act, stronger health warnings and increased tobacco taxation, advocates insist that significant policy gaps remain.
They are calling for stricter regulation of emerging nicotine products, bans on flavoured nicotine products, tighter controls on advertising and packaging, stronger enforcement of restrictions on sales to minors and increased funding for tobacco-control programmes.
At another briefing organised by the Nigerian Heart Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Association of Nigeria, stakeholders renewed calls for tougher enforcement measures to protect children and adolescents.
President of UNAN, Prof. Oluremi Olutimo, warned that tobacco companies are deliberately repackaging nicotine products to appear modern, attractive and harmless to younger consumers.
According to him, products such as e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, shisha and synthetic nicotine devices are increasingly marketed through sweet flavours, colourful packaging and celebrity endorsements.
He cautioned that nicotine addiction among teenagers could trigger lifelong cardiovascular and respiratory complications, noting that studies indicate young people who use e-cigarettes are more likely to transition to conventional cigarette smoking later in life.
Chairman of the 2026 World No Tobacco Day Committee and chairman of Education and Capacity Building at UNAN, Mr. Ephraim Abutu, also expressed concerns over the growing trend of so-called “balloon parties,” where teenagers allegedly inhale substances through balloons.
According to him, many parents remain unaware of emerging behaviours exposing children and adolescents to addiction and substance abuse.
For health advocates, the fight is no longer solely against cigarettes. It is now a battle against an evolving industry that has traded tobacco smoke for sweet flavours, sleek packaging and digital marketing while pursuing the same objective: creating lifelong customers.
As Nigeria confronts the growing presence of new nicotine products, experts say the challenge before policymakers is clear, to ensure that a new generation does not become addicted before fully understanding the dangers hidden behind the appeal.
