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Tag: Kenya

  • Kenya Proposes Higher Tobacco Stamp Duties

    Kenya Proposes Higher Tobacco Stamp Duties

    Image: alexlmx

    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.

  • Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

    Kenya Urged to Reverse Tobacco Export Deal

    Photo: prehistorik

    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.

  • Court Dismisses Suit to Outlaw Tobacco

    Court Dismisses Suit to Outlaw Tobacco

    Flag of Kenya behind court gavel and scales
    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.

  • Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping

    Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping

    Credit: Vector Shop

    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.

  • Kenya: Push to End Tobacco Farming

    Kenya: Push to End Tobacco Farming

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    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.