Tag: Kenya

Tobacco companies will be required to contribute part of their profits to a fund to treat cancer patients in Kenya, according to a story in The Star.

It wasn’t clear from the story whether the fund would be used to treat all cancer patients, only tobacco smokers, or only those people with smoking-related cancers.

The requirement to pay into the fund is said to be included in the 2014 Tobacco Control Regulations that came into force last week after British American Tobacco lost the case it brought against the regulations.

The story said the regulation required tobacco companies to pay two percent of the ‘value’ of the tobacco products manufactured in or imported into Kenya.

“We expect the tobacco companies will be mandated to take responsibility and support the government’s efforts in curbing the rising effects of tobacco use through mandatory contribution to the Tobacco Control Fund,” said Joel Gitali the head of the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance.

A recent ruling by Kenya’s Court of Appeal has been described as demonstrating the ‘unwavering’ and ‘exemplary’ determination of the country’s authorities to ‘stand against the intimidation of the tobacco industry and place public health above all other considerations’, according to a story in the Daily Trust, Abuja.

The African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) was commenting on the court’s decision to dismiss BAT Kenya’s challenge to the 2014 Tobacco Control Regulations, which, in part, require cigarette companies to print graphic health warnings on product packs.

The ATCA is said to be a non-profit, non-political pan-African network of more than 120 civil society organizations.

The group described the ruling as a ‘signal for advocates of stronger control in the region to continue to struggle against tobacco use’.

Deowan Mohee, ACTA executive secretary, said that while celebrating the progress in tobacco control in Kenya, it was necessary to be mindful that the tobacco epidemic was progressing in Africa.

If strong measures weren’t taken now, it was unlikely that the continent would reach the target of a 30 percent reduction in tobacco consumption by 2025.

Mohee said that as tobacco consumption declined in the developed world, the tobacco industry considered Africa its last frontier and was pursuing an aggressive marketing strategy across the continent.