Lobby seeks fresh Senate appearance on tobacco products rule

Tobacco industry players now want to be given a chance to make fresh representations to the Senate Health Committee on the proposed Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

This follows the February changes in the committee membership that came with a major shake-up in the Parliamentary committees, after the fall-out of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his boss President William Ruto, and the formation of a broad-based government that included ODM foes.

Led by the Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA), an industry lobby group, the Kenyan tobacco industry which is a major target for sin tax by the government, is seeking a re-take on its presentation, given that the current committee comprises a large proportion of new members who were not present during earlier public hearings.

“It is imperative that they (new committee members) have access to all pertinent facts before making decisions that will have far-reaching public health and economic implications,” CASA chairman Joseph Magero says in a letter to Committee chairperson and Uasin Gishu Senator, Jackson Mandago, seen by the Star.

This, amid calls to the government to to undertake an evidence-based comprehensive review of the Tobacco Control Act to accommodate new tobacco-free alternative products, saying that such an assessment would accord cigarette smokers access to reduced-risk alternatives that would help them switch from smoking.

Magero said the Campaign for Safer Alternatives is dedicated to achieving 100 per cent smoke-free environments in Africa and believes access to innovative solutions like vapes and pouches offer the best chance of success in the crucial mission.

“As a stakeholder with significant interest and expertise in this area, I believe it is crucial to present relevant information that will contribute to a well-informed and balanced deliberation on this matter of importance to all Kenyans,” he said.

Ensuring that all perspectives are considered aligns with the principles of transparency, democracy and sound policymaking, he noted.

“I respectfully request the opportunity to provide evidence-based insights and factual information to the Committee, either through an oral presentation, written submission or both, at a time deemed convenient by the Committee,” Magero said in the letter.

The committee on health is currently reviewing the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Senate Bill No. 35 of 2024), aimed at enhancing regulations on tobacco advertising, sales and usage to protect public health.

The Bill is targeted at strengthening control measures, particularly regarding electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), nicotine pouches, and other nicotine products. 

It seeks to regulate the manufacture, distribution, marketing, sale, and use of these products, including restricting online sales and prohibiting free samples. 

The bill also includes provisions for more regulated advertising and potential penalties for promoting nicotine products and new pictorial health warnings on the packaging of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches.

These warnings will cover at least 30 per cent of the front and 50 per cent of the back of the packaging and will feature both images and text to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use.

However, the Kenya tobacco industry is raising concerns with the blanket approach to these proposals, saying that the current law is inadequate to support application of graphic health warnings on tobacco-free nicotine products.

Founded on evolving consumer preferences including a need to address the health impacts of smoking, the tobacco industry has rolled-out products deemed less risky as they do not contain tobacco, and neither are they combusted to release toxicants that cause diseases as in the case of cigarettes.

According to BAT Kenya’s scientific engagement manager, Douglas Weru, the current Tobacco Control Act formulated and enacted in 2007 is inadequate to fully support the government's move.

"There have been a lot of changes since 2007 to today. There are newer reduced-risk products that have come up, so the law should be amended to accommodate these new product categories,” Weru said during a recent stakeholders meeting in Eldoret.

The industry is further calling on the government to ensure that the proposed health warnings are factual, science-based, and not misleading to consumers, adding that most of the proposed images do not correlate with the products for which they are proposed.

Kenya’s retail industry under the umbrella of the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (Retrak) yesterday said  it supports the formulation of regulation that will anchor modern nicotine products in law, as presently they are not anchored in the Tobacco Control Act - whose enactment was done long before the emergence of these products.

“We believe that by doing so, stakeholders in the sector, from manufacturers to retailers, will have the necessary legal framework and guidance to enable them to run their businesses and operations in an environment backed by legal guidance. This will help avoid ambiguities in their operations from a legal standpoint, and will, in turn, help provide a stable operating environment," Retrak CEO Wambui Mbarire said.

“We call for a speedy, but carefully considered, conclusion to the legislative process on the proposed amendments taking into account the views of all stakeholders for an inclusive outcome.” 

The Ministry of Health is proposing to have graphic health warnings across both traditional tobacco products and modern nicotine products, a move that has been rejected by players in the industry as well as stakeholders across the value chain.