Tag: Kenya

Kenya Urged to Hike Excise Duties

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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.
October 29, 2023
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.
October 9, 2023
Official Accused of Promoting Tobacco

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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.
August 21, 2023
Mastermind Sounds Alarm Over Illicit Trade

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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.
July 31, 2023
Kenya Proposes Higher Tobacco Stamp Duties

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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.
January 17, 2023
Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

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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.
December 1, 2022
Court Dismisses Suit to Outlaw Tobacco

Photo: Alexey Novikov | Adobe Stock
A Kenyan court dismissed a petition by Ibrahim Mahmoud challenging the legality of the production, manufacturing and use of tobacco products, reports Business Daily.
The suit requested that the government ban the production, supply, management, dissemination, consumption and use of tobacco products and cigarettes as well as requesting that cancer be declared a tobacco-related ailment and a national disaster requiring special administrative action.
The suit was dismissed by Justice Hedwig Ong’udi on grounds that the petitioner did not prove that the Tobacco Control Act and the Tobacco Control Regulations 2014 are contrary to the constitutional provisions that were allegedly violated.
“It is not, therefore, enough for the petitioner to solely rely on his dissatisfaction in the use and legalization of tobacco products in Kenya. He should avail [sic] evidence to show how the statute and regulations are contrary to the provisions of the constitution complained of,” Ong’udi said.
November 29, 2022
Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping
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Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Ukur Yatani, has proposed to change the excise tax on liquid nicotine to Sh70 ($0.60 cents) per milliliter in a bid to make it less accessible to users, including school children and the youth.
Vaping industry advocates warn the new proposals to raise excise tax on nicotine products will push safer alternatives for smokers out of reach and help the black market thrive, according to The Standard.
Campaign for Safer Alternatives (Casa), a lobby that aims for smoke-free environments in Africa, said the tax changes would result in higher prices of e-cigarettes and negatively impacting those who rely on them to help them stay off cigarettes.
“Doubling the tax on vapes and nicotine pouches is the opposite of a cash cow. If anything, it will drain more money from the Treasury by forcing vapers into the black market,” said Casa chairman Joseph Magero on the proposals contained in the Finance Bill.
“Already, Kenya’s sky-high vaping taxes have created a thriving black market for vape products, with many shops selling un-taxed vapes in broad daylight.”
He said the tax increase will also raise the healthcare costs for Kenya’s government by leaving vapers with no choice but to revert to smoking or using unregulated black market vapes.
April 29, 2022
Kenya: Push to End Tobacco Farming

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Kenya’s Ministry of Health along with the World Health Organization and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched an initiative to end tobacco farming in the country, reports Xinhuanet.
The initiative is called the Tobacco-Free Farms project, and it will support farmers’ shift to alternative crops, such as legumes, that are less harmful to human health and the environment. It was launched in Migori, which is located in western Kenya.
The goal is a gradual phasing out of tobacco farming at the smallholder level, replacing tobacco with crops that will boost food security and help achieve health-related sustainable development goals.
According to Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Health, tobacco has worsened the burden of respiratory diseases in the country, harmed vital ecosystems like watersheds, escalated gender inequality, rural poverty, deforestation and soil degradation.
Ministry of Health data shows that more than 6,000 Kenyans die annually from tobacco-related diseases, and 2.7 million adults and 220,000 children use tobacco products daily.
March 24, 2022
Fake news from Kenya
About 700 million counterfeit cigarettes were traded in Kenya last year, according to a story in The Star citing market research by British American Tobacco.
The company was quoted as saying that the illegal trade in Kenya accounted for 14.1 percent of the cigarette market.
Financial director Sidney Wafula said the trade ‘denies Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Sh2.5 billion annually in tax revenue while the industry loses Sh900 million’.
Meanwhile, MD Beverly Spencer that BAT’s independent third-party research showed that counterfeit cigarettes were either smuggled into the country, having been destined for a lower tax market that was never reached, or they were produced locally with forged tax stamps.
Spencer said KRA and other relevant bodies needed to find the point of sale of the fake products because it was difficult for consumers to tell the difference between genuine and fake products.
February 15, 2019