Concerns have intensified over the growing use of targeted marketing by tobacco companies to recruit women and girls in Nigeria, with new findings indicating a surge in the promotion of flavoured nicotine products and digital advertising framed around lifestyle appeal and “safer use” narratives.
A new study by an Abuja-based public policy organisation, Gatefield, has warned that tobacco and nicotine firms are increasingly deploying sophisticated marketing strategies across social media, television and streaming platforms to normalise usage among young women.
The report was unveiled during a virtual event held ahead of the 2026 edition of World No Tobacco Day, where experts raised concern over what they described as widening regulatory gaps in the control of emerging tobacco products such as vapes and e-cigarettes.
According to the study, titled “The Evolution of Tobacco Marketing to Women and Girls in Sub-Saharan Africa,” tobacco companies are deliberately positioning flavoured products—including mint and vanilla variants—alongside themes of freedom, sophistication, wellness and modern lifestyle to attract younger female consumers.
The research, which covered Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, found that more than 77 per cent of respondents were exposed to tobacco-related content through films, television and streaming platforms.
It further revealed that 24 per cent of surveyed women had experimented with tobacco products, with women aged between 18 and 24 identified as the primary target demographic for industry marketing tactics.
In Nigeria, exposure levels appeared particularly high, with 85 per cent of respondents reporting repeated encounters with tobacco imagery and products in visual media content.
Presenting the findings, Gatefield’s co-principal investigator and Public Health Lead, Omei Bongos, said tobacco companies were increasingly relying on “harm-reduction narratives” to promote e-cigarettes and vaping devices as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes—claims she described as misleading.
According to her, such messaging is gaining traction because smoking remains socially unacceptable for many women across sub-Saharan Africa, making digital and indirect marketing more effective.
The study also noted that 76 per cent of respondents across the surveyed countries still considered smoking by women culturally unacceptable, although South Africa showed a comparatively higher level of acceptance at 35 per cent.
Experts at the event warned that the growing digital presence of tobacco marketing is outpacing regulatory frameworks in several African countries, including Nigeria, and called for stronger oversight of online advertising, influencer promotions and entertainment content placements.
They further urged governments and regulators to hold social media platforms accountable for hosting promotional content that could normalise nicotine use among young people, especially girls.
The report concluded that without urgent policy intervention, aggressive digital marketing strategies by tobacco companies could undermine decades of public health gains in tobacco control across the region.
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