[Intl-tobacco] Kenya: It's Been a Long Campaign...

[robert weissman]

It's Been a Long Campaign...
The Nation (Nairobi)
October 1, 2004

Franklin Awori

The proposed Tobacco Control Bill, which found a high level champion last
weekend in First Lady Lucy Kibaki, is the first serious attempt by the
Government and anti-tobacco lobbyists to rein in the multi-billion tobacco
industry, seen as a major global health risk.

She told MPs to "resist overtures by cigarette firms" to reject the Bill.
During celebrations to mark World Heart Day, she also asked the health
ministry to gazette smoking regulations to protect Kenyans from the effects
of passive smoking.

The proposal to regulate the industry picked up in 1999 with the drafting of
the Bill and its subsequent publishing in 2000, but things slowed down when
the tobacco industry fought back through intense lobbying and pressure on
the Government.

Five years later, the Bill still awaits parliamentary approval as its
proponents and opponents continue to argue over provisions seen by the
tobacco industry as too draconian and aimed at crippling the industry.

The Bill has far-reaching implications and seeks to increase public
awareness on the dangers of smoking, protect non-smokers by restricting
public smoking and also create a regulatory body in the tobacco sector. It
also proposes that cigarette packets carry more information on the effects
of smoking on health and the environment.

As a sign of its commitment to regulating the industry, the Government this
year signed an Anti-Tobacco Treaty spearheaded by the World Health
Organisation. It is hoped that this will pave the way for enacting the
Tobacco Control Bill.

The treaty calls for higher taxes on tobacco, sets standards on tobacco
pricing, advertising and sponsorship and demands more legal liabilities for
the manufacturers of cigarettes.

But there are also doubts as to whether the Government will go all the way,
given that it reaps Sh8 billion annually in taxes from cigarette sales, or
about six per cent of its revenue.

Government officials also underscore the need to balance regulations with
economic interests, noting that tobacco directly and indirectly employs
close to 600,000 people in the country.

However, health officials say the cost of cigarette smoking far outweighs
the gains, with Health Minister Charity Ngilu saying her ministry spends
close to Sh7.5 billion annually in treating tobacco-related illnesses. She
said one person dies every seven seconds from tobacco-related illness, with
13,400 people dying daily worldwide.

According to the Ministry of Health, about 50 per cent of the country's
smokers are below 20, about five million are aged over 15, and three out of
10 are women.

Tobacco companies, nevertheless, strongly favour self-regulation and are
strongly opposed to the Bill's provisions calling for a ban on
advertisements or promotion.