Police have arrested two suspects who were found destroying a consignment of cigarettes worth more than Sh8 million in Limuru.
Limuru Subcounty Deputy Police Commander Paul Yator said the cigarettes were wrapped with papers with cartoon drawings on them to camouflage the products.
Speaking following the arrest, Ngecha-Tigoni MCA Patrick Kimani called upon the relevant authorities to continue with investigations to establish the motive behind the burning of the cigarettes.
"Motive ya kuchoma bado tunaendelea kujua ni sababu gani walileta hapa na kuchoma. Currently tukona two suspects amabao watatulead mahali hizi vitu zilitoka," he said.
This is loosely translated to, "We are working to find out the motive behind bringing and burning the cigarettes here. Currently we have two suspects who will lead us to where the product came from".
Locals condemned the actions, saying the suspects did not have their best interests in mind, citing health complications, especially for children and the old.
The incident comes shortly after a survey showed that cigarettes used in the country are mostly illicit.
Aga Khan University's Brain and Mind Institute in conjunction with the National Taxpayers Association (NTA) said this includes regular and E-cigarettes.
The illicit use makes it difficult to tax them as part of efforts to cut tobacco consumption.
According to National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) the country has a total of 2,305,929 tobacco users between the ages of 15 to 65.
The study done in 2022 also showed that the average age category for initiation of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances is 16 to 20 years and the minimum age is six years.
Tobacco contains nicotine, which makes it difficult to quit smoking.
A study by Healthline found that an average cigarette contains some 10 to 12 mg of nicotine and about 1.1 to 1.8 mg is inhaled by the end of each cigarette.
This means that for a pack of 20 cigarettes, one is likely to inhale between 22 to 36 mg of nicotine.
In the country, a single smoker uses an average of 12 sticks a day.
