The Kenya Tobacco and Nicotine Tax Coalition has urged the National Assembly to expedite passage of the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024, warning that delays could expose more children and young people to emerging nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches.
Speaking during a press briefing on Friday, the coalition expressed strong support for the proposed legislation and called on lawmakers to retain the bill’s robust regulatory provisions, incorporate recommendations from tobacco control stakeholders, and urgently conclude the public participation process before forwarding the Bill to the Senate for final consideration and passage.
“We call upon the National Assembly to retain the strong regulatory measures proposed in the bill, adopt recommendations from the Tobacco Control stakeholders for enhancing the bill and urgently conclude the public participation process and forward the bill to the Senate for final consideration and passage”, said Thomas Lindi, CEO Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance.
The coalition said the legislation comes at a critical time as Kenya grapples with a rapidly evolving tobacco and nicotine market that has outpaced existing laws.
“Over the past decade, electronic cigarettes such as vapes, nicotine pouches and other emerging nicotine products have entered the market faster than our laws have evolved to regulate them,” the coalition said.
According to the group, manufacturers have increasingly marketed these products using attractive flavours, colourful packaging, sleek designs and misleading claims that portray them as modern, harmless and socially acceptable, particularly among young people.
The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to address these gaps by bringing emerging nicotine products under stricter regulation, restricting flavours that appeal to youth, strengthening health warnings, regulating product standards and introducing additional protections for children and adolescents.
The coalition, however, raised concerns over what it described as efforts to weaken or derail the proposed law.
“Yet as Parliament considers this important legislation, a campaign has emerged seeking to weaken, delay, or derail the Bill altogether. This Bill is about protecting our children and youth from addiction. It is about closing dangerous loopholes that the tobacco and nicotine industry has exploited for years. It is about ensuring that Kenya remains a leader in tobacco control rather than allowing decades of public health progress to be reversed,” the coalition stated”, the Coalition stated.
The coalition pointed to a recent incident involving a student at Moi High School Kabarak who was reportedly found in possession of a vape, saying the case highlighted the growing penetration of nicotine products among school-going children.
While public attention focused on disciplinary and legal issues surrounding the incident, the coalition said a more urgent concern was the presence of a nicotine product specifically designed to evade detection within a learning institution.
“This was not a conventional cigarette. It was a sleek, discreet and technologically advanced nicotine delivery device that illustrates how rapidly these products are evolving and how vulnerable young people have become to targeted marketing,” the coalition noted.
The group warned that without stronger legislation, schools, parents and public health authorities would continue struggling to keep pace with the growing availability and sophistication of emerging nicotine products.
It called on legislators to prioritize public health over industry interests and ensure the Bill is passed without provisions that could weaken protections for children and young people.
The coalition maintained that the proposed law presents a crucial opportunity for Kenya to strengthen its tobacco control framework and prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine.
“When children as young as five years old are being exposed to highly addictive nicotine products, this is no longer simply a tobacco control issue. It is a child protection issue. It is a public health issue. And it is a national development issue. The threat is real and growing. Parliament must act with the urgency required to protect the next generation before this crisis becomes even worse”, it advised.
