Nigeria’s House of Representatives Plans to Amend the National Tobacco Control Act to Close Regulatory Gaps on E-cigarettes and Other Emerging Nicotine Products

Key Takeaways

• Nigeria’s House of Representatives plans to review the National Tobacco Control Act, with a focus on emerging products such as e-cigarettes and vape devices;
• The House Ad-hoc Committee on Drugs and Illicit Trafficking paid a visit to the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters (Abuja);
• Committee Chairman Timehin Adelegbe said the current framework does not adequately cover new products and that border controls and enforcement mechanisms need to be strengthened.

2Firsts, February 26, 2026

According to The Guardian Nigeria, Nigeria’s House of Representatives has concluded plans to review the National Tobacco Control Act to address regulatory gaps around emerging nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes and vape devices, as part of efforts to curb illicit drugs and harmful substances.

The remarks followed a visit by the House Ad-hoc Committee on Drugs and Illicit Trafficking to the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Abuja.

Committee Chairman Timehin Adelegbe said the existing tobacco control framework does not sufficiently contemplate new products such as electronic cigarettes and vape devices, stressing the need for legislative reforms to strengthen border controls and enforcement mechanisms. He said the committee must examine whether the laws are adequate, whether bonded warehouses are complying with regulations, and whether there is sufficient personnel at Nigeria’s borders, adding that these issues should be addressed holistically.

Adelegbe said illicit drugs and related products constitute a national crisis requiring coordinated legislative reforms and stronger inter-agency synergy, particularly among the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigeria Customs Service.

On the Customs side, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, received the delegation on behalf of Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and said that in the past year alone, Customs intercepted more than 230 forty-foot containers of illegally imported pharmaceuticals, many exceeding limits approved by NAFDAC and falsely declared as other goods.

Cover image source: The Guardian Nigeria