Vapes: Lack of laws puts African kids, the environment at risks

With no proper disposal plans in place in Nigeria and Burkina Faso, disposable vapes are recklessly dumped in public places alongside other waste products, sometimes ending up in rivers.

Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, Elza Sandrine Sawadogo, Kevin Woke

May 28, 2024. 6:00a.m.

Vapes, popular in the UK and other Western countries, have flooded African markets with no government plans in place for proper disposal. A variety of vape products are sold in popular markets, superstores, and local shops in Nigeria and Burkina Faso, and some are sold on WhatsApp groups in schools. The majority of the vapes The Colonist Report saw contained between 2 and 5 percent nicotine, according to the product description.

The UK government has long banned disposable vapes due to their appeal to children under 18.

Ms. Ouédraogo, a mother of three in Burkina Faso, was shocked to see the vape tube in her 14-year-old school bag. When she asked her son, he said it was a toy. “I had doubts so I approached other parents and one of them confirmed to me that it was about recharging an electronic cigarette. That’s how I knew my child was smoking.”

Many African parents are unfamiliar with vapes, and when their children are introduced to them, their ignorance prevents them from recognising the products.

Both Nigeria’s and Burkina Faso’s tobacco laws do not explicitly mention or cover vaping. The use of tobacco products is prohibited for people under the age of 18.

Ms. Ouédraogo is one-too-many of the parents who is ignorant of vaping, usage, health and safety concerns, and the dangers inherent.

She told The Colonist Report that the vapes in her son’s bag didn’t smell like cigarettes. “I never saw him with it and his lips didn’t turn black. It’s often the signs that we are watching, but with this thing, I didn’t see anything coming.”

According to her, the son, who attends a private high school in the city of Ouagadougou gets the vape from the WhatsApp groups his classmates created. “They exchange tips and also go to shops where refills of cigarettes are on sale,” she said.

The 38-year-old mother, who is yet to recover from the shock of learning that her son vapes, assumed he was the only vaper at school and sought advice and counsel from women’s group in her community “The testimonies they shared with me show me that the phenomenon is growing.”

According to vape manufacturers, vapes would help smokers gradually quit smoking, but the World Health Organisation stated in an email to The Colonist Report that, while vaping is promoted as a means of quitting smoking, “e-cigarettes, as used in the real world, have not been proven to be effective for smoking cessation at the population level.”

A joint investigation by The Colonist Report and The Economist of Burkina Faso shows that vapes are mostly imported into Burkina Faso from France. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD), the market value of imported products until the 3rd quarter 2023, is 47,250,000 CFA francs. On the market, it sells on average 10,000 CFA francs in the capital Ouagadougou, and the refill, perfumed, sells between 2,500 and 5,000 CFA francs.

While in Nigeria, our findings also revealed that most of these vapes in Nigeria are imported from Europe, the United States, China, Canada, and Dubai, among other places. These vapes are sold for N1,000, N10,000, and N18,000, respectively. The products include Air disposable devices, EB design BC5000, Essential, Relx, Liteza Grand, Mazaya, Dandash, AL Fakhamah, Adalya, iyutak, and many others.

Environmental damage

The World Health Organization (WHO) produced a document in 2022 on the link between tobacco and the environment. Already at that time, the WHO warned of the additional damage caused to the environment by the inadequate disposal of electronic waste (e-waste) originating from electronic nicotine delivery systems such as e-cigarettes, single-use electronic and heated tobacco products, which generate toxic emissions and waste.

The lack of law in Nigeria and Burkina Faso unlike in the UK where appropriate e-waste is designated for collection and disposal, has endangered the environment as users indiscriminately littered vape pouches together with other rubbish. Some of which pollutes the air if burnt, others may kill fish and other biodiversities when disposed into the rivers due to nicotine in vapes.

Research has shown that “Nicotine and other toxins from second-hand smoke easily dissolve in water and even small amounts can be very harmful and even deadly to fish.”

Little data and information is available on the harmful effects of the production of these vapes on the environment, and according to the WHO document cited by Le Ecomoniste, “the disposal of e-cigarette cartridges and batteries constitutes an environmental problem because the majority of e-cigarette cartridges -cigarettes (made of plastic) are neither reusable nor recyclable and end up in the streets, gutters and ending up in waterways.”

Electronic cigarettes contain plastics, metal coils, atomizers, batteries, microcontroller chips and chargers. For example, the blade of an iQOS brand heated tobacco product is made of platinum and gold, coated with ceramic. Many of these products are single-use disposable products made with non-biodegradable and non-recyclable materials that can harm the environment.

Burkina Faso, like Nigeria, does not have plans for proper vape disposal, making recycling difficult. When vapes are used in these countries, these products are disposed of alongside other waste, which ends up in rivers or littered around.

On December 8, 2023, Burkina Faso’s National Anti-Fraud Coordination (CNLF) destroyed and burnt 278,000 packets of cigarettes, valued at 222,400,000 FCFA in an open place, a bit far from residential houses.

Health implications

While Nigeria has not officially announced any deaths or identified anyone affected by vaping, the United Kingdom has reported five deaths linked to vaping.

Professor Best Ordinoha from the community medicine department of the University of Port Harcourt School Teaching Hospital (UPTH) has been treating patients who are suffering from the effects of vapes, including couples. He told The Colonist Report Africa that nicotine affects the brain and the heart and that, despite its addictive effects on people, “vaping is dangerous and can cause long and short-term illnesses.”

According to Ordinoha, the short-term effects of vaping are mild and easily treatable, but they typically manifest within a few days. They include irritation of the throat and mouth caused by contact with the vapour, which can lead to cough, catarrh, and respiratory infections.

“But the long-term effect can cause cancer of the mouth and throat, which cannot be ruled out,” and it can take close to or more than a decade to fully manifest.”

He urged vapers to stop vaping due to the immediate and long-term health consequences. “Probably, going forward, the Nigerian government would look at regulating the sales, especially the products that target children and it is illegal to target children.

According to the World Health Organisation, tobacco-related illnesses kill around 30,000 people in Nigeria each year, and research has shown that 4.7 million Nigerian adults currently use a tobacco product, 3.1 million adults are current tobacco smokers, and approximately 25,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 smoke cigarettes every day in Nigeria.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) warned Nigerians in 2019 about the risk of e-cigarettes but the products are in prominent shops, with the government and NAFDAC looking away.

Burkina Faso Tobbaco struggles

At the beginning of 2024, a civil society organisation fighting against tobacco in Burkina Faso, Africa (ACONTA) had a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene. The talks include the launch of the 2023 report on the tobacco industry interference index in Burkina Faso and the current challenges of tobacco control.

On this last point, recommendations were made to the department to strengthen the anti-smoking legislation. “To keep pace with the challenges of the fight and counter the actions of the tobacco industry, the association recommended that new and emerging products be included in the legislation. These include Shisha, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco with or without nicotine,” explains the interim coordinator. These products, which are not included in the country’s current anti-smoking legislation, are increasingly used by the population.

It should also be noted that the 2023 World Report on the Tobacco Epidemic ranks Burkina among the countries that have succeeded in implementing tobacco-free spaces or measures to ban smoking in public places. This measure is enshrined in Article 8 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and stipulated in Articles 26 and 27 of the Tobacco Control Act in Burkina Faso which prohibits smoking in public places. There is a decree prohibiting smoking in enclosed public places and public transport. However, these prohibition measures are not fully respected.

Nigeria's legal loopholes

Since 2015, when the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, signed the National Tobacco Control Act, the law has not been effectively implemented.

Section 15 (1) of Nigeria’s National Tobacco Control Act, 2015 (NTCA) prohibits the sale of tobacco and tobacco products to and by a minor (below 18 years), however, findings by researchers and by The Colonist Report Africa show that under 18 years are being sold tobacco, especially in local areas in places like Port Harcourt, Lagos, including northern communities facing insecurity issues.

The law requires 70% parliamentary approval of regulations before it can be enforced. The former health minister has used the tobacco law to promote the government’s tobacco control plans at global gatherings.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, executive director of Corporate Accountability and Public Partnership Africa (CAPPA), a government watchdog organisation that has been pressuring the government to implement the tobacco control law, stated that there is a need for the Nigerian government to protect people and children from the dangers of vaping.

Oluwafemi told The Colonist Report Africa that the tobacco industry claims vapes are “harm reduction products,” but “Nigeria does not need harm reduction products; we need very strong tobacco laws.”

For more than two decades, Oluwafemi has advocated for a tobacco-free nation to protect Africans from the harmful effects of tobacco products. He says the Nigerian National Tobacco Act has a loophole that needs to be closed.

Oluwafemi stated, “The science of vaping is not clear.

“When the science is not clear, vapes should be avoided,” he said. “We have begun to educate people about cigarettes because the government cannot come out and ban them.”

Vape sales in Nigeria are increasing, and advertisements are becoming more prominent. Burna Boy, a Grammy Award-winning artist from Nigeria, signed a five-year deal with vaping companies BrkFst and Aspire North America, LLC, a subsidiary of Inspire Technology Inc., to manufacture and distribute vaping products in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Europe in December 2023.

Oluwafemi fears that Burna Boy’s five-year deal with vaping companies will result in aggressive marketing of cannabis vaping and e-cigarettes. Several Nigerians have criticised the deal since its announcement. Other Nigerians have criticised the Lagos state government for allowing the product’s advertisement.

Nigerian Government look-away

Nigerians were cautioned by NAFDAC in 2019 to give up using e-cigarettes. Vapes are one type of electronic cigarette that contains nicotine.

Prof. Moji Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, opined in a statement that the United States Food and Drug Administration has revealed the risks associated with the use of e-cigarettes and that health workers should investigate patients who are experiencing seizures.

“Ask patients about e-cigarette use (e.g. vaping), particularly when providing care following a seizure, and ask for the particulars of the brand, duration, and nature of the use.

“Healthcare professionals and patients are also encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the nearest NAFDAC office,’’ as she said, as quoted by the Tribune.

We sent an email to the NAFDAC requesting comments on their roles in protecting Nigerians and young people from vapes, but the agency never responded.

The Colonist Report Africa also sent an email to the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), whose roles include providing standards and quality assurance services for all products, services, and processes in Nigeria in line with international best practices to ensure continual improvement. We asked them about their roles and campaigns in protecting Nigerians from the effects of nicotine vapes. Until the time of publication, there was no response from SON.

In addition, we emailed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to learn more about the commission’s role in reducing or eliminating the negative impact of vapes on consumers. We are yet to get a response from the FCCPC.

Away from Africa: Similar vaping issues

The Colonist Report investigation published on April 28, revealed how underage children in the UK break into shops to obtain vapes, despite the government’s efforts to keep children away from vaping.

One 19-year-old university student in the UK, who preferred not to be identified, told The Colonist Report Africa that she began vaping in December 2023, after two months of smoking cigarrette. “When I started vaping, I liked it bu I am addicted to the vape,” she said.

“I can feel that I am having problems breathing and when I am walking and I can’t walk too much,” she continued. “The main problem is that while I am tasting, I can’t drink water but would be looking for my vape.

Our source said she has started the process of quitting with the help of a friend. The Colonist Report interviewed her 25-year-old friend about how she helped her quit vaping. The friend said: “Once she tries to vape, I will immediately take the vape,” but she became anxious and asked for the vapes. “However, I never gave it to her; instead, I would tell her that the vape is bad.”

Last updated: August 4, 2024. We updated the infographic source that shows the long- and short-term effects of vaping to Cancer Research journals from Cancer Research UK, which we had previously used. Our source includes a combination of research links that link vaping to cancer and the professor of medicines from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. We apologise for the mix-up.