Stakeholders petition Senate to halt tobacco control Bill
They cautioned that implementation of the proposed restrictions could slash over Sh15 billion in revenue and worsen illicit trade in tobacco and nicotine products.
A new push in the Senate to tighten tobacco regulations has drawn sharp resistance from bar owners, retailers, and traders, who are demanding that the proposed Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill be withdrawn and subjected to fresh consultations.
On Wednesday, the Bars, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya (Bahlita), the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (Retrak), and Business Focus submitted a petition to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye, urging senators to stop debate on the Bill sponsored by nominated Senator Catherine Mumma.
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They argued that the draft law was advanced without genuine public involvement and risks wiping out small businesses.
“This Bill has been rushed forward without any meaningful consultation. Consumers, retailers, manufacturers and other critical stakeholders who stand to be impacted have been left out of the conversation,” the petition reads.
The document, signed by Bahlita chairperson Boniface Gachoka, Retrak chief executive Wambui Mbarire and Business Focus 2025 head of secretariat Margaret Muthoni, warns that the law would impose duplicate licensing requirements, heavy compliance rules, and costly approval processes that small and medium-sized enterprises cannot sustain.
“Behind every shop counter is a family trying to make ends meet. This Bill puts their future at risk,” the petitioners said.
They further cautioned that implementation of the proposed restrictions could slash over Sh15 billion in revenue and worsen illicit trade in tobacco and nicotine products.
According to groups, several provisions risk “killing legal business and handing over the sector, particularly nicotine products, to an already thriving criminal enterprise.”
“It will expand the black market, punish law-abiding traders and rob thousands of small family-owned shops of their livelihoods,” the petition adds.
Among the most contested clauses are those seeking to cap nicotine levels, ban flavours, and restrict access to smokeless tobacco alternatives such as pouches and vapes.
The groups maintain that these products have been instrumental in helping smokers quit and that outlawing them would drive consumers to unsafe, unregulated substitutes.
“With about 2.6 million adult smokers in Kenya, this Bill blocks safer options for a vast population, people who are trying to make better choices for themselves and their families,” they said.
The draft law also proposes a ban on hawking tobacco products or selling them through vehicles and mobile vending, with penalties including fines of up to Sh50,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.
The associations insist that lawmakers must consider the livelihoods at stake. “Senators are elected by us, the people of Kenya. Jobs and livelihoods are at stake. Supporting this Bill in its current form and progressing it further without proper public and stakeholder consultations as envisioned in the Constitution of Kenya means turning away from the very communities that elected you,” the petition states.
The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend the 2007 law, is now before the Senate and awaits the Committee of the Whole House stage, where legislators can debate and propose changes.
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