A health lobby group has criticised the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, currently under debate in the Senate, calling it a step backward for public health.
The Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA) has warned that the proposed law could push Kenyan smokers further into harm by clamping down on safer nicotine options like vapes and pouches.
CASA chairman Joseph Magero said the Tobacco Bill ignores scientific evidence and would effectively trap millions of smokers in their addiction to cigarettes.
“This bill doesn’t protect public health it endangers it,” said Magero. “It dismisses science and punishes alternatives that have helped people quit smoking around the world.”
The bill reportedly proposes a cap on nicotine levels and flavour restrictions in non-combustible nicotine products measures CASA says could make alternatives less appealing and less effective.
“Nicotine isn’t the killer it’s the smoke,” Magero argued. “If these products are too weak or unappealing, smokers won’t switch. They’ll just keep smoking.”
He urged lawmakers to adopt a science-based harm reduction approach, rather than regulating safer alternatives as harshly as cigarettes.
“Twelve thousand Kenyans die from smoking every year,” he added. “We should be helping smokers quit, not blocking their best chances.”
