STOP ILLICIT TOBACCO TRADE SAYS W.H.O. REP

Kenya has joined other nations around the globe to commemorate ‘World No Tobacco Day’.

The day has been set aside to promote public awareness and call for policy intervention on the outstanding tobacco issue.

The theme of this year’s event is ‘Stop illicit trade of tobacco products’.

‘Illicit trade involves smuggling and producing counterfeit tobacco products and these businessmen evade tax. Such products do not display health warnings as may be required by law and so mislead their users. They are easy to access and are more affordable making it easier for people particularly young ones to try using them for experimentation.’

She adds that illicit trade promotes corruption and goes against the principles of good governance.

‘I Tax will close the loop holes in the illegal schemes these businessmen use, says Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner for Investigation and Enforcement Jonah Cheruiyot.

Head of Tobacco control unit from the Ministry of Health Dorcas Kiptui has asked the Ministry of Finance to heavily tax the products to reduce the number of users especially the youth.

‘Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death globally accounting for 6 million deaths every year. About 600,000 of these deaths are caused by second hand smoking. Tobacco has caused 100 million deaths in the 20^th century. If current trends continue, tobacco will be responsible for 8 million deaths by 2030 with 80% of these occurring in low and middle income countries, ‘says Nairobi county Director for Medical Services Nicholas Muraguri.

Muraguri warns those who have a habit of smoking in their homes since their children will become victims of second hand smoking.

However Kenya has made strides in recognizing the adversity of illegal tobacco trade.

This was after this country joined other nations to draft the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to give a roadmap on the development of comprehensive strategies to address this challenge.

‘To date only 14 countries, Kenya included, in the Africa region have signed the protocol and two have ratified it (Congo and Gabon). Ratifying demonstrates commitment to tackling this issue,’ says Mandlhate.

Recent assessment has shown 18 out of 47 African countries in the region are implementing the requirement of marking on all packets of tobacco products to indicate their origin, and 13 out of 47 of the countries have instituted monitoring and collection of data on cross border trade in  tobacco products, including even targeting illicit trade.