Bar owners in Mombasa have rejected the proposed Tobacco Control Amendment Bill 2024, urging the National Assembly to allow more time for consultations and public participation before debating and passing the legislation.
Businesswoman Martha Nelly told a press briefing that, as bar owners, they have complied with licensing requirements under difficult conditions and high licensing costs and that the bill appears to add new requirements on top of existing ones without clearly explaining how the old and new requirements will work together.
Nelly decried that members of Parliament failed to consult the business community in Mombasa to get their concerns about how the bill will affect them.
Additionally, the bar owners asked Parliament to provide sufficient and realistic time for businesses to adjust before penalties begin to be enforced and simplify compliance procedures for small and medium-sized businesses so that one does not need to be a lawyer to understand them.
They also want clear safeguards and guidance for the law not to be implemented differently from one county to another and conduct public participation throughout Kenya, not only in Nairobi, because businesses on the Coast are also part of the discussion.
“We need public participation countrywide for the Bill not only in Nairobi. An effective legislation should strike a balance between public health objectives and the practical realities faced by businesses, adding that all stakeholders must be involved in the law-making process,” she said.
Nelly further urged the National Assembly not to repeat the Senate’s mistake and to ensure that the process remains open, transparent, and inclusive, allowing all affected stakeholders a genuine opportunity to be heard.
“Good laws are not built by excluding people; they are built through consultation, evidence, and consensus,’’ said Nelly
The proposed bill seeks to strengthen tobacco regulation through several measures, including the regulation of emerging nicotine products and regulation of emerging nicotine products.
In the bill, e-cigarettes, vapes and oral nicotine pouches would be subjected to the same strict regulatory framework that governs conventional cigarettes.
The bill also prohibits use of flavoured products such as fruit, mint and candy in tobacco and nicotine products in a bid to discourage youth initiation, sales and advertising Restrictions:
The Bill also proposes restrictions on the sale, advertising and distribution of tobacco and nicotine products within a 100-metre radius of facilities primarily serving children, including schools and a ban on online sales and mobile vending.
Kenya has already implemented several tobacco control measures under the Tobacco Control Act, 2007, including smoke-free public spaces, graphic health warnings, bans on advertising and promotion, increased taxation, public awareness campaigns and the tobacco-free farms initiative.
These efforts are being reinforced through stricter enforcement against illicit trade and sales to minors, the establishment of a multi-sectoral taskforce on emerging nicotine products and the proposed Tobacco Control Amendment Bill, which aims to regulate new nicotine products and strengthen penalties.
Dennis Makau, owner of Foxin Hotel in Mombasa, echoed concerns raised by fellow operators, saying while they support measures aimed at safeguarding public health, some of the proposed regulations could have unintended consequences on businesses if enacted without adequate consultation.
“This Bill is going to introduce another license which we are going to be included in that permit and not all of us bar owners do sell cigarettes in our business,’’ said Makau.
He called on lawmakers to engage industry stakeholders and provide sufficient time for public participation before the Bill is considered in Parliament.
by Mary Mtawa
