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Showing posts with label British American Tobacco Lagos State House of Assembly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British American Tobacco Lagos State House of Assembly. Show all posts

Thursday, January 23, 2014

BATN commends Lagos State House over passage of smoking law



The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) has commended the Lagos State House of Assembly over the recent passage of what the company described as balanced Law against smoking in the public, reports NaijaAgroNet:

Head of Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco, Mr. Sola Dosunmu, made this known, commending the new Law for accommodating the views of all stakeholders whilst also maintaining its responsibility to protect the citizens of Lagos State from the effects of second hand smoking.

The Public Place Smoking Law which was passed by the Lagos State House Assembly on Monday the 20th of January 2014, has been sent to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola for assent.

Addressing the new Law, the Head of Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco, Mr. Sola Dosunmu, welcomed the passage of this Law which he says expressly seeks to protect the non-smoking public from tobacco smoke and also guarantees the adult cigarette smokers’ right to continue to enjoy the smoking of a legal product in private places, open places and in other designated smoking areas in Hotels, Bars, Nightclubs and tertiary institutions.

He further said, they have studied the Law and particularly it is not excessive or discriminatory. It is balanced and respects choices. He also praised the Lagos State House of Assembly for taking on board the views of the owners of Hotels, Bar, Lounges and CafĂ© owners who advocated for the inclusion of designated smoking areas in the Law. Also commendable was the introduction of 6 months grace period for these owners to implement any changes envisaged under the new Law as to do otherwise would have crippled their businesses even though he was of the view that a 12 months grace period was more realistic and in tune Head of Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco, Mr. Sola Dosunmu with international standards.

Speaking further, Dosunmu debunked the insinuation that the Tobacco industry was opposed to the passage of the Law, rather he reiterated that the Tobacco industry has always advocated for the passage of balanced, evidenced led and workable Laws.  This he opined, the Lagos State House of Assembly has to a large extent achieved by the passage of this Law.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE/PR
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Pix: Gov. Fashola of Lagos State.