Tag: Kenya

  • Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping, Nicotine Products

    Kenya Plans to Raise Taxes on Vaping, Nicotine Products

    Location Kenya. Red pin on the map.

    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.

  • Kenyan Smokers Want Vaping Products as Quit Aids

    Kenyan Smokers Want Vaping Products as Quit Aids

    Kenya has struggled in regards to helping combustible cigarette smokers quit. According to recent research by Dr. Michael Kariuki, an epidemiologist, two-thirds of the country’s smokers want to quit but lack alternatives to replace traditional cigarettes.

    Credit: Zero Photo

    In an interview with TUKO.co.ke, Kariuki stated that as much as smoking is an addictive habit, most smokers expressed a desire to quit but admitted that they find it difficult. “The addictive product in cigarettes is nicotine, however, what kills people are the other carcinogenic products that are medically referred to as Group 1 human carcinogens,” he told Hillary Lisimba.

    Kariuki added that his research was aimed at offering solutions that would make it easy for smokers to quit. He said offering them alternative products that have nicotine but are not combustible. “You see, smoking [cigarettes] gives a calming effect due to the nicotine, yet the majority of smokers who want to quit find it difficult because of the addiction,” he said.

    Vaping products are not regulated in Kenya. There is no law addressing the use of e-cigarettes in indoor public places, workplaces, and public transport. The desire of cigarette smokers to stop smoking are complicated because nicotine replacement therapies, such as e-cigarettes, are too expensive for most smokers, according to Kariuki.

    He also stated that, as a country, Kenya is not doing enough to help smokers quit. The country needs to offer products that can gradually assist struggling smokers.