by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Body, known as, the ‘Njirhoba Foundation,’ has integrated tobacco control education into the ongoing Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) programme, in Kaduna State, taking its door-to-door campaign against smoking directly to households.
The Foundation, whose members also serve as Community Drug Dispensers, first introduced the anti-smoking campaign during the house-to-house distribution of azithromycin.
“It is now using the SMC exercise to educate parents, caregivers and children on the dangers of tobacco and the need to shield children from exposure,” according to a statement exclusively shared in Kaduna yesterday by the foundation.
A central message of the campaign is that, “Children should never be sent to buy cigarettes for adults.” The Foundation says preventing children from handling tobacco products is a key step to discouraging smoking and reducing future tobacco use.
Mrs. Blessing Bartholomew, a businesswoman, said she would not allow anyone to send her children to buy cigarettes. “Her 12-year-old daughter, Precious, said she knows tobacco damages the lungs and would never buy or use cigarettes,” it stated.
Mr. Bartholomew Dominic warned that children frequently sent to buy cigarettes could become curious and start smoking, which may later expose them to other harmful substances.
Mrs. Justina Matthew, of Kudendah community, said she would counsel her children against buying cigarettes and would confront anyone who tries to send them. She added that she would support legal action against adults who repeatedly involve children in purchasing tobacco.
Miss Ruth Solomon, 23, also pledged to educate her younger siblings on the dangers of smoking and peer pressure, and to stop anyone from sending them to buy cigarettes.
Speaking during the campaign, Founder of Njirhoba Foundation, Mrs. Margaret Kwa’ada Julius, said the group is using every opportunity to promote awareness of tobacco control policies at the community level.
She explained that taking the campaign, from house-to-house helps parents understand their role in protecting children from tobacco, and called for stronger implementation of tobacco control laws and legal action against adults who send children to buy cigarettes.
According to her, such measures will help in raising a generation that understands the harmful effects of tobacco and chooses a healthier future.