[Intl-tobacco] Kenya Braces for Battle as War on Smoking Hits Third World (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

Kenya Braces for Battle as War on Smoking Hits Third World
by ANN M. SIMMONS /  Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times, Friday, 1/28/00

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0NAIROBI, Kenya--Officials and health care activists, determi=
ned to
fight an increase in smoking-related diseases in another Third World
market, are pushing legislation to reduce Kenya's growing demand for
tobacco.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0A bill sponsored by the Ministry of Health with the backing =
of
anti-smoking activists calls for a crackdown on placing cigarette
billboards in areas accessible to children under age 18 and would prohibit
tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events. It also would ban
tobacco advertising on television and radio, impose stiff penalties for
selling cigarettes to underage smokers and declare most public places to
be smoke-free.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0The bill comes as concern is rising about an explosion of ci=
garette
smoking in Third World countries.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0With the United States and Europe beginning to win their own=
 wars
against smoking, research by the World Bank shows that cigarette
manufacturers are seeking to boost markets in developing countries.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Kenyan health care officials seem determined not to allow mo=
re of
their citizens to get hooked. Although no official statistics exist,
medical observers estimate that as many as 5 million people, about a third
of Kenya's adult population, are smokers. And the numbers are rising.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0The Tobacco Control Committee, affiliated with the Kenya Med=
ical
Assn., accuses the tobacco industry of using advertising strategies that
target young people. It blames lax regulations for the increase in smoking
among youth.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Only a basic warning is required on cigarette packs, and in =
some
cases it is nearly illegible. Some billboards carry no warnings at all.
Unlike in the United States, proof of age is not required when purchasing
cigarettes in Kenya.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"[Cigarette] advertisements are very attractive, especially =
to young
people like me, because we normally want to look like the people we see in
the advertisements," said Edwin Onyango, 18, a high school graduate who
started smoking at age 13.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Tobacco is a drug, and at any kiosk you can get a [cigarett=
e]
stick," said Dr. Charles Maringo, vice chairman of the Tobacco Control
Committee. "We need to change those dynamics."

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Anti-smoking activists want the final tobacco bill to requir=
e that at
least 30% of a cigarette pack be covered with a stronger warning, such as
"smoking kills," and state the quantity of substances contained, such as
tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Anti-smoking forces also are pushing for the creation of a T=
obacco
Products Regulatory Board, which would monitor and regulate marketing and
sales.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Kenya's poor may suffer disproportionately from smoking-rela=
ted
diseases because tobacco is cheap. Individual cigarettes can be purchased
for less than 4 cents apiece. The most popular brands here retail for less
than $1 for a pack of 20.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Medical officials confirmed an increase in the number of cas=
es of
tobacco-related lung cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease and premature
death.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Still, it is unclear whether parliament will approve new con=
trols.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0More than a million Kenyans owe all or some of their livelih=
ood to
tobacco through farming, retailing or advertising. Cigarette manufacturers
say that, without tobacco, the Ministry of Finance's revenues would suffer
a shortfall of nearly $100 million a year.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Those who oppose new regulations also argue that banning ind=
oor
smoking would hurt Kenya's lucrative tourism and hospitality industries
because patrons of restaurants and bars would be likely to avoid
facilities that enforce a smoking ban.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"Smoking is purely an adult choice," said Titus Mutiso, mana=
ger of
corporate and regulatory affairs at British American Tobacco (Kenya),
which has done business in the country since 1907. "The public is
appropriately informed of the risks. . . . Our advertising is targeted at
adults who have already made a decision to smoke."

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Mutiso said his company limits its advertising on television=
 to after
9 p.m. and that none of its billboards are placed near schools.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Regardless of who wins the political tussle, many Kenyans sa=
id
anti-smoking laws would do little to curb the urge to smoke.

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0"I feel cool and relaxed after smoking," said Phillip Peyie,=
 32, a
company administrator, who smokes a pack a day. "It's a way of getting rid
of all my mental stress."

* * *=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0Samuel Hinga Mwangi of The Times' Nairobi Bureau contri=
buted to
this report.