TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: Kenya

  • Kenya to Consult on New Health Warnings

    Kenya to Consult on New Health Warnings

    Photo: 9nong

    Kenya’s Ministry of Health has invited the public to comment on 13 proposed large graphic warnings for tobacco products, reports The Star.

    If the changes are approved, graphic warning depicting impotence, cancerous growths and sick fetuses will also be printed on new tobacco and nicotine products sold in Kenya. Currently, only cigarette packets are required to display such warnings. The law requires a combined picture and text health warning to occupy at least 30 percent of the front and 50 percent of the back of smoked tobacco products. Among the proposed labels is also a message indicating that nicotine pouches are not a safe alternative.

    “These warnings are very important because they speak even to those who can’t read and they attract attention. They also scare people and pass information more clearly and immediately compared to text,” said Joel Gitali, head of the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance.

    Health warnings were introduced in Kenya as part of the 2007 Tobacco Control Act, which came into force in July 2008 and included requirements for 13 rotating text-only health warnings in Kiswahili and English.

    In 2014, the government introduced 15 new images for smoked and smokeless tobacco packages.  The regulations were to be implemented in June 2015 but were delayed due to a legal challenge by cigarette manufacturers, who lost the case at the Supreme Court. The images were introduced beginning September 2016.

    The 2014 regulations require tobacco manufacturers to rotate the picture and text warnings in a 12-month period.

    However, the law does not state how frequently the health minister must update the warnings. The World Health Organization advises governments to change tobacco health warnings every 12 to 36 months.

  • Shisha Ban Overturned

    Shisha Ban Overturned

    Image: mehaniq41

    Kenya’s ban on shisha is unlawful, a Mombasa court ruled, reports The Star.  

    In overturning the measure, Shanzu Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Mkutu noted that Kenya’s health cabinet secretary had failed to submit the regulations to Parliament for approval as stipulated in a 2018 High Court directive.

    As a result of the ruling, the magistrate ordered the immediate release of 48 individuals arrested and charged for selling and smoking shisha in January 2024.

    Since December 2023, the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse arrested more than 60 people in separate club raids in Nairobi and Mombasa.

    The operations have also resulted in the confiscation of a substantial quantity of shisha paraphernalia, including shisha bongs and charcoal pipes.

    Shisha smoking was outlawed in 2017. The ban covered the use, import, manufacture, sale, promotion and distribution of the product based on health concerns.

  • Kenya Relaxes Pouch Health Warnings

    Kenya Relaxes Pouch Health Warnings

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    The Kenyan government has relaxed nicotine pouch health warning requirements following BAT’s statement that it would pull investment from a new factory in the country’s capital, according to The Guardian.

    The government agreed to let BAT sell Velo nicotine pouches with significantly smaller health warnings and without mentioning the presence of potentially cancer-causing toxicants, according to letters between BAT and the Ministry of Health, which were obtained by Examination, an investigative news outlet. The ministry agreed to let BAT sell Velo with a small warning stating, “This product contains nicotine and is addictive.”

    Current regulations in the country state that labels must cover one-third of the package and include information about health hazards.

    Kenya is one of BAT’s key “test markets” in low-income and middle-income countries, according to company financial presentations. The company plans to make Kenya its base of operations for a rollout of Velo across southern and eastern Africa.

    In 2021, BAT requested its product be allowed to be sold with a warning label covering 10 percent of the packaging. In a letter, Crispin Achola, BAT Kenya’s managing director, told Mutahi Kagwe, the cabinet health secretary, “our resumption of factory operations and the sale of Lyft [Velo’s previous name] in Kenya hinges on the provision of appropriate text health warnings.”

    “Your positive consideration of this request will allow us to operationalize our factory,” the letter said.

    In response, the Ministry of Health agreed to allow a warning label covering 15 percent of the front of the package.

    Velo is the only nicotine pouch legally available in Kenya, though other brands are smuggled in illegally.

  • Layoffs at Mastermind Tobacco

    Layoffs at Mastermind Tobacco

    Image: vadim_key

    Mastermind Tobacco has terminated the contracts of approximately 1,000 employees after being placed under administration due to undisclosed debt, reports Pulse.

    The company, owned by the late Wilfred Murungi’s estate, ceased cigarette production six months ago

    Mastermind Tobacco, which imported over half of its raw materials from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Kenya, has been involved in legal battles with employees and local tax authorities.

    In 2019, Mastermind and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) agreed to sell the company’s prime assets to settle a KES2.9 billion ($18.83 billion) tax arrear. Earlier this year, the company lost a KES517 million lawsuit against the KRA, with the High Court denying it the opportunity to introduce new evidence.

  • Kenya Urged to Hike Excise Duties

    Kenya Urged to Hike Excise Duties

    Photo: Rodworks

    Kenya should increase its cigarette excise duties in line with World Health Organization guidelines, according to coalition of health experts, tobacco control advocates and national development policy specialists, reports People Daily Kenya.

    The call comes in response to the government’s 2023-2024 financial budget, which for the first time in a decade maintains cigarette tax levels at their current levels.

    A 2019 study by the National Taxpayers Association (NTA) proposed to the government to increase the excise duty applicable to cigarettes and to apply a uniform rate.

    Kenya taxes filterless cigarettes at lower rates than filtered products—and approach that falls short of the recommended WHO best practices for tobacco taxation, according to the study.

    NTA CEO Irene Otieno, says that despite efforts to control tobacco consumption in Kenya over the last decade, more than 2.5 million adults use tobacco products.

  • Kenya Wants to Ban BAT Nicotine Pouches

    Kenya Wants to Ban BAT Nicotine Pouches

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Kenyan legislators are urging the government to ban the sale of BAT’s nicotine pouches Velo and Lyft, reports 2Firsts.

    Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha was questioned about the products during a parliamentary address.

    The Kenyan Tobacco Control Act (KTCA) states that all packaging of nicotine pouches and tobacco products must contain warnings in English and Kiswahili. Sabina Chege, Member of Parliament, showed two boxes of Velo nicotine pouches, which only displayed a reminder that Velo contains nicotine, which can be addictive. The argument by experts is that nicotine also poses serious health risks.

    Allowing import and sale of the pouches could jeopardize the well-being of Kenyan youth, according to Chege. In response, Nakhumicha suggested the formation of a technical team to investigate the KTCA and make recommendations.

  • Official Accused of Promoting Tobacco

    Official Accused of Promoting Tobacco

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Moses Kuria, Kenya’s trade cabinet secretary, has been accused by tobacco control lobby groups of promoting tobacco use, according to 2Firsts.

    Kuria met with BAT representatives regarding the company opening a manufacturing facility in Kenya for tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches.

    Lobbyists led by the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA) criticized Kuria for the meeting, accusing him of undermining efforts to control tobacco use. They alleged that the meeting violated regulations regarding interactions between public officers and the tobacco industry. The activists are concerned that Kuria’s support may diminish efforts to curb tobacco use and move farmers away from tobacco growing.

    Following the meeting, Kuria expressed support for the tobacco industry on Twitter.

    The tobacco industry contributes about 1 percent to Kenya’s GDP. 

  • Mastermind Sounds Alarm Over Illicit Trade

    Mastermind Sounds Alarm Over Illicit Trade

    Photo: Axel Bueckert

    Mastermind Tobacco has asked the government of Kenya to crack down on the illicit cigarette trade, reports The Standard.

    “We are concerned at the growing level of illicit cigarettes making their way into the country, especially from Uganda,” Mastermind said in a statement.

    “We are the biggest losers in the market because when we have 80 percent of illicit products bearing the name of our product and are sold cheaply in the country, we will not be able to compete.”

    Mastermind said it is ready to work with government agencies including Kenya’s Inter-Agency Anti-Illicit Working Group and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency, regional bodies including the East African Community and COMESA as well as international organizations such as the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization to eliminate the illicit tobacco trade.

    “If we do not work together, we may be forced to shut down because we will not be able to compete against products that are not paying tax,” Mastermind Tobacco stated.

    A recent survey by its competitor British American Tobacco found that Kenya is losing up to KES6.5 billion ($45.67 million) annually in taxes as a result of the illicit cigarettes.

    An estimated one in every five products sold in Kenya is counterfeit and almost 4 million Kenyans are using counterfeit goods that include sugar, cigarettes, bottled water and cooking oil.

    Last month, the Kenya Revenue Authority in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Team destroyed an assortment of illicit goods seized from the market worth KES500 million with an estimated tax value of KES150 million.

  • Kenya Proposes Higher Tobacco Stamp Duties

    Kenya Proposes Higher Tobacco Stamp Duties

    Image: alexlmx

    The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants to increase the stamp duty on combustible cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery devices to KES5 ($0.04) from KES2.8, reports The Star.

    The agency has invited the public to give its views on the proposal by Feb. 3.

    The move to appears to be in response to President William Ruto’s directive to the KRA to double its revenue collection from KES2.1 trillion to more than KES4 trillion.

    Last November, the president said increasing revenue collection would help the country ease its debt burden.

    “I need help with our debt situation. I have agreed with KRA that as a country, we must move from KES2.1 trillion to between KES4 [trillion to KES]5 trillion,” he said.

    According to Ruto, countries in the middle-income category typically raise 20 percent to 25 percent of their GDP from taxes. By comparison, Kenya raises only 14 percent of its GDP in that manner.

  • Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

    Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

    Photo: prehistorik

    Anti-smoking activists are urging the government of Kenya to reverse a deal to export more tobacco to South Korea, reports The Star.

    During a recent visit to South Korea, Kenyan President William Ruto signed a bilateral trade agreement that will see Kenya increase its exports of tea, coffee and tobacco.

    The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA) has asked the president to reconsider his decision, citing fears that the agreement will persuade farmers to grow tobacco even as health advocates are encouraging them to replace the golden leaf with other cash crops.

    Concerned about the environmental and health effects of tobacco production and consumption, the World Health Organization, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization in collaboration with the Kenyan government launched a project to discourage tobacco production in western Kenya in March.

    The project enables the farmers to stop tobacco growing contractual agreements and switch to food crops that will help feed communities.

    According to KETCA national coordinator Thomas Lindi, Kenya’s Tobacco Control Act also commits the government to continually phase out tobacco farming in Kenya.

    “Any treaty or agreement that binds Kenya to promote tobacco farming is against the Tobacco Control Act and is therefore illegal,” he said. “We ask the government to immediately cancel aspects of the Kenya-South Korea agreement that touch on tobacco.”

    Tobacco is a key cash crop for at least 55,000 farmers in Kenya, mostly from the western and southeastern parts of the country. Though the overall contribution to the national economy is relatively small (about 0.03 percent of GDP), tobacco is an important economic activity in the regions where it is farmed.