Changes to the Kenya Tobacco Control Act will make it harder for peddlers of new addictive nicotine and tobacco products to reach Gen Zs.
Ministry of Health officials are discussing the changes in Naivasha.
They are targeting new products such as nicotine pouches, vapes and e-cigarettes.
Evidence shows they contain cancer-causing chemicals and cause other harm yet they are not fully covered by the current Act.
Dr Andrew Toro, head of the division of drug and substance abuse control at the ministry, said the Tobacco Control Act was enacted in 2007 when most nicotine products were extremely rare.
“We will take advantage of an omnibus bill coming to Parliament soon to suggest the amendments,” he said.
“The current Act does not envisage many of the electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems available today. We need to expand its scope.”
The products will carry graphic health warnings and their sale will be severely restricted to protect young people, the proposals indicate.
Dr Toro spoke in Nairobi at the launch of a report on the new generation tobacco and nicotine products consumption in Kenya, by the National Taxpayers Association, a local non-profit.
Experts say even though nicotine pouches contain fewer harmful chemicals than smokeable tobacco, they still contain cancer-causing chemicals and carry a risk of several side effects, including nausea, hiccups and mouth irritation.
The NTA report 'Landscape of New-Generation Tobacco and Nicotine Products Consumption in Kenya' showed people below 35 years are the main consumers of nicotine products.
The report is based on data from the 2022 Statista Consumer Insights Survey.
It suggests Kenya is only beginning to suffer the harms of nicotine products.
“Majority users have reported increasing addiction levels and hypertension cases associated with electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery substance consumption,” the report indicates.
“Therefore, tighter regulations are warranted to control consumption levels.”
The report shows the nicotine market in Kenya is replete with illegal products and calls for strict taxes.
“Capacitating tax authority to root out illicit products is critical. Such action, together with targeted cessation support and awareness public health campaigns, will go a long way in strengthening the resilience of tobacco control policies in averting electronic nicotine and non-nicotine delivery systems,” the report says.
NTA executive director Irene Otieno said the government does not need to subject Kenyans to the proposed social health authority's 2.7 per cent tax if it increases taxes on tobacco and nicotine.
"We are not taxing products that cause chronic diseases. We spend a lot of money mopping their effects," she said.
Thomas Lindi, the national coordinator of the Kenya Tobacco Control and Health Promotion Alliance, asked the Ministry of Health to ban the products.
“The tobacco industry has been deliberately targeting the Gen Zs. We need to ban the nicotine products completely or provide very stringent regulations,” he said.
Prof Cyprian Mostert, an economist at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, said taxes on nicotine in Kenya are unacceptably low.
He said the current trading price of a nicotine pouch (10 milligrams) in Kenya is Sh350, of which less than Sh0.02 is the tax.
“Such negligible taxation is unacceptable, considering international studies show that modern oral nicotine pouches have alarmingly high nicotine levels and come in flavours that are attractive to young people,” Mostert said.
He is a lead mental health economist at the Brain and Mind Institute of the university.
“Unfortunately, the current Kenyan tax does not help reduce nicotine pouch consumption and fails to prevent young people from starting. Therefore, a case for reforming the excise tax policy on cigarettes and nicotine products exists,” Mostert said.
The don said no independent study has backed the claims that oral nicotine pouches are safer than combustible cigarettes or support smoking cessation.