Government urged to immediately ban nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, vapes and Shisha

The Kenya Tobacco Control and Health Promotion Alliance (KETCA) has urged the government to immediately ban and remove nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, vapes, and Shisha from the market until the country enacts a proper legal framework to control the products. 

KETCA, while commemorating World No Tobacco Day on Friday, May 31, claimed that the addictive products are among the latest tricks used by the sector to recruit young people and adults. 

The alliance's chairman Joel Gitali alleged that approximately 9,000 Kenyans lose their lives annually to tobacco-related cases. With this year's theme being, ‘World No Tobacco Day—Protecting Children from Tobacco Industry Interference and Marketing, Gitali added that it is crucial to guard the children from what he claimed were manipulative campaigns.

“This crisis underscores the urgent need to protect Kenyan children and youth from the aggressive tactics of the tobacco industry,” said Gitali.

2022 data from the Tobacco and Drugs Survey of Adolescents in Schools (TADSAS 2022) conducted by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse -NACADA) and the Kenya Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023 reveal disturbing trends that tobacco industries use to target young Kenyans.

Among them is introducing different flavours like candy and fruit, which entices young people to use nicotine products, which eventually leads them to use traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.

The data shows that 3.2 per cent of the youth aged between 15 and 24 use tobacco products, while 3.4 per cent admitted to having used an e-cigarette.

In the World Health Organisation report “Hooking the Next Generation,” which is being launched today, the rate of e-cigarette use among adolescents now exceeds that of adults in many countries. 

IQOS heated tobacco products are seen on display as cigarette maker Philip Morris International launches its first flagship boutique store in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 25, 2019. (Photo: Nqobile Dludla/Reuters)

A recent survey done by the Tobacco Control Board indicates that more than two-thirds (67.8 per cent) of e-cigarette users affirm using tobacco products primarily because of their flavours, as nearly half (49.6 per cent) wrongly believe e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional tobacco products. Once they get addicted, these youths represent a lifetime of profits to the industry, which is aggressively recruiting more. 

Initiation into tobacco use often begins in adolescence, with the minimum age of initiation ranging from six years for traditional tobacco products to 17 years for e-cigarettes and 20 years for nicotine pouches.

Gitali added that despite Kenya having firm tobacco control laws under the Tobacco Control Act and the Tobacco Control Regulations 2014, much still needs to be done.

“The full implementation of these laws has never been realised. Indeed, the extent of tobacco industry interference in Kenya is increasing alarmingly," Gitali warned. 

Additionally, Gitali stated that Kenya ranks 21st out of 90 countries in terms of tobacco industry interference in health policies, according to the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023.

Thomas Lindi,  KETCA National Coordinator, has said there is a need for strong policy recommendations to curb these worrying trends. He called for a ban on the advertising, promotion, sponsorship, online sales, and delivery of all new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, as well as the use of flavours in these products

“Firstly, there should be a total ban on nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, and all vape products in Kenya. We also call for substantial and regular increases in tobacco taxes to ensure that tobacco prices rise above inflation, as Kenyan youth are highly sensitive to price changes,” Lindi emphasised. 

He further suggested that larger graphic health warnings on all tobacco and related nicotine products sold in Kenya are necessary to deter youth from initiating use.

“We call on policymakers, educators, parents, and the broader community to unite in this critical fight to protect our children from the tobacco industry's aggressive and deceptive tactics. Together, we can ensure a healthier, smoke-free future for the next generation of Kenyans,” Lindi urged.