The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora has announced that the Federal Government (FG) has increased the tax on cigarettes from 20 to 30 percent to discourage Nigerians from tobacco consumption. The Minister made this known during the launch of the Tobacco Control Date Initiative Dashboard, which is a virtual (web-based) database that allows stakeholders and the public to access relevant and updated data on tobacco control policies in Nigeria.
He said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria, with effect from June 1st, 2022, commenced implementation of a new three-year tobacco tax regime which will end in 2024. This new regime increased the Ad-Valorem tax rate from 20 percent to 30 percent.
“In addition to the 30 percent Ad-Valorem, a specific excise rate has been increased from N58 to N84 per pack of 20 sticks of cigarette, and this will further be increased to N94 per pack in 2023; and then N104 per pack in 2024.
“Also, shisha is now taxed at the rate of N3,000 per liter and N1,000 per kilogram and this will be increased yearly by N500.12”.
He said that the pro-health tax is an effective public health control measure aimed at reducing the demand and consumption of tobacco products.
