• Lobby says many entertainment joints still offer their patrons shisha
• Former Health CS Cleopa Mailu baned Shisha on December 28, 2017, saying its use had encouraged the peddling of hard drugs.
An anti-tobacco lobby has said it will soon start naming and exposing the 'untouchables' running shisha business despite a government ban.
The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance said on Monday numerous entertainment joints still offer tobacco substance to revellers.
This comes as Kenya prepares to join the rest of the world in celebrating World No Tobacco Day on Friday.
The theme for this year is 'Tobacco and Lung Health.'
The annual event is used to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form.
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco kills one person every four seconds.
“Despite the country having good regulations in place, there is lack of proper enforcement by the relevant agencies,” the alliance noted.
Former Health CS Cleopa Mailu baned Shisha on December 28, 2017, saying its use had encouraged the peddling of hard drugs.
“Most of these high-end places where shisha smoking goes on are owned by well-known individuals. We have their names and sooner or later, we will shame them and they will have to explain to Kenyans why they are breaking the laws in this country, ” Ketca board secretary Thomas Lindi said.
The use of shisha remains illegal after Justice John Mativo in a court ruling declined to temporarily lift the ban imposed by Mailu.
"As we are moving towards the world no tobacco day, we would also like to call upon the government to enforce the existing laws," the lobby said.
"We have many good laws that could protect the health of our people, but we have a weakness in enforcement," Lindi said.
Experts warn that a single shisha session is the same as smoking hundreds of cigarettes.
According to the World Health Organisation, the volume of smoke inhaled in an hour-long shisha session is estimated to be the equivalent of smoking between 100 and 200 cigarettes.
Kenya became the third in the region to impose a ban on shisha after Tanzania and Rwanda.
Other countries with similar restrictions on water-pipe smoking include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Singapore, Jordan and Pakistan.
Smuggling as a result of porous borders has blamed for the continued use despite the ban.
Kepha Ombacho, the director of public health in the Ministry of Health, had at a past stakeholders' engagement forum said the government had not licensed any importer or outlets to trade in shisha, confirming fears that the banned tobacco product was finding its way into the country illegally.
The lobby also wants the government to impose a 70 per cent tax on tobacco products as per the WHO recommendation.
The products are currently taxed at 45 per cent.