Tobacco and You, the radio magazine program which seeks to acquaint listeners with information
on the dangers of tobacco use, is being given a new look and reach by
its producers.
The Environmental Rights
Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, its producer, said the program,
which started a year ago, is being expanded to carter for the needs
of its listeners as well as expand its reach to as many places as possible
in the country. Tobacco and You,
reputedly the first radio program of its kind in Africa, is a 15-minute
interview based program that has as guests doctors, lawyers, tobacco
control activists, consumer rights advocates, government officials and
most prominently, former smokers who come to narrate experiences of
their ugly romance with the killer stick.
The weekly program
, which hitherto aired on Metro Fm. Lagos, Kapital FM, Abuja and Pyamid
FM, Kano (all Radio Nigeria FM stations), has since started airing in
the following station ever Wednesday: OGBC, Abeoukuta (Ogun State),
Aso FM, Abuja, Freedom FM Kano, and Love Family FM, Port Harcourt.
Besides the regular
interviews, Tobacco and You will now feature special reports
and features related to smoking, focusing on both rural and urban locations
in the country, in educational institutions and other such places. It
will also reflect the views of listeners and the man on the street on
what is becoming a national tragedy if left unchecked.
According to Mr.
Akinbode Oluwafemi, ERA’s program manager and national coordinator
of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA), the new move signifies
a new face of the highly received program. “In the last one year,
we have discovered that radio can be a highly critical and effective
tool against the looming tobacco epidemic in this country. We are encouraged
by the reception and will continue to improve upon the contents as well
as the reach of this novel program”, he said. Oluwafemi who is also
the executive producer of the program, hinted that besides extending
it beyond the four current cities, it will be aired in local languages
in the near future.
Tobacco
and You is presented by Betty Abah, a former senior writer
with TELL Magazine, Lagos Nigeria. It enjoys technical support
from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, United States, and past editions
are available on the website: www.tobaccoandyou.com
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