Smoking Will Be Banned Soon In Nigeria - Fg Speaks

The Federal Government, on
Thursday, said smoking would
soon be banned in the country
as soon as the Anti-Tobacco Bill
before the National Assembly
was passed into law.
It also disclosed its readiness
to convene a Universal Health
Coverage to help boost
strategies towards improving
healthcare delivery.
Minister of Health, Professor
Onyebuchi Chukwu, who spoke
in Abuja, at a ministerial
platform, insisted that the
Federal Government could no
longer condone smoking.
He asked rhetorically: “Why
are you smoking? Why are you
taking what will kill you? What
benefit do you derive from
smoking?”
ProfessorChukwu listed his
achievements in office in the
last two years to include
establishment of National
Trauma Centres in the
University of Abuja Teaching
Hospital and the National
Hospital, Abuja; completion of
Federal Staff Hospital, Jabi,
Abuja; completion of
Laboratory and Administrative
building of the Nigerian
Institute of Pharmaceutical
Research and Development
(NIPRD), Abuja, and
rehabilitation and equipping of
several teaching hospitals in
the country.
The minster disclosed that
President Goodluck Jonathan
increased funding for polio
eradication to N4.7billion and
made further commitment of
N2.5billion this year with a
Presidential Task Force on
Polio Eradication constituted
to help in the fight against the
disease.
He said, “today in Nigeria,
seven of our teaching hospitals
can do kidney transplant. This
month, we are expecting
International Certification
Team on the Elimination of
Guinea Worm in Nigeria.”