Uganda’s proposed tobacco control bill under fire from Kampala traders

The Kampala City Traders’ Association (Kacita) has thrown its weight behind those opposing some aspects of Uganda’s proposed Tobacco Control Bill, according to a story in The Observer.

Kacita’s chairman, Everest Kayondo, described the law as “draconian and [one that] would cost Uganda business opportunities.”

If the bill were passed in its current form, he said, it would cost billions of shillings in taxes, and hundreds of farming jobs in northwestern Uganda.

The traders have taken issue with provisions of the bill that ban the sale of tobacco products within half a kilometer of public institutions such as schools, hospitals and public offices, and that ban the display of tobacco packs in retail outlets.

“If people have invested their money, they need to sell and make a profit,” said Kayondo.

Recently, Elly Karuhanga, the chairman of British American Tobacco Uganda (BATU), advised MPs to consider the economic benefits of the tobacco trade.

The Uganda Revenue Authority ranked BATU the sixth-largest taxpayer in the country in 2010–2011, the latest year for which rankings are available.