• In January 21, 2021, the former Health CS Mutahi Kagwe told the BAT its pouches can only be sold by adhering to the Tobacco Control Act.
• A report shows there are still serious violations of the Tobacco Control Act in the introduction, promotion and sale of the nicotine pouches.
New evidence and report has shown that tobacco nicotine pouches that were banned by the Ministry of Health in 2020 are back in the Kenyan market.
Various groups and organisations have raised concerns over the ready availability of pouches in the Kenyan market, now sold online, and even on various hangout spots in town.
Image: MARGARET WANJIRU
In March 2021, Anti-tobacco campaigners vowed to oppose any mutilation of the Tobacco Control Act to favour the sale of the banned nicotine pouch Lyft in Kenya, which was introduced in 2019.
Lyft was then banned by the Health ministry a year later.
It was established that they were illegally registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board as a pharmaceutical product and were being sold to minors.
In a subsequent letter dated January 21, 2021, the former Health CS Mutahi Kagwe told the BAT its pouches can only be sold by adhering to the Tobacco Control Act.
He said they must have images that show the debilitating damages the pouches cause in a user’s body, and they must not be advertised at all.
The Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance asked the government to ensure the pouches are not allowed into the Kenyan market, if the manufacturer is not ready to follow the existing law.
KETCA is the umbrella body for tobacco control organisations in the country.
"This product should not even be in the market. We must not reward the tobacco company by allowing it to sell an illegal product," KETCA national chairman Joel Gitali said.
"That is rewarding impunity. Why did they not ask for laws to govern their product before they brought it to the market."
Tobacco control advocates are also suspicious of the unending interactions taking place between the Ministry of Health and BAT ever since the Lyft nicotine pouches were declared illegal by Kagwe.
"We are opposed to any further unnecessary interactions between the tobacco industry and our government officials because they are a violation of our laws and may lead to compromise of public health officials," the officials said.
The ‘Assessment Report on the Tobacco Industry Interference with the Regulation of Novel Tobacco Products in Kenya’ report, goes ahead to reveal that there are still serious violations of the Tobacco Control Act in the introduction, promotion and sale of the nicotine pouches.
Are children safe?
With the growing rise of the use of smartphones and social apps like TikTok and Instagram, young kids are exposed to various trends.
Scrolling through TikTok, there is a trend dubbed, “Hii inabore, hii sasa ndo inabamba.”
This loosely translates to," That is boring, this is the trend."
In the trend, Tiktokers “hook” people up with what is famous.
A young girl, probably around 17 years, demonstrates how she uses a nicotine pouch, similar to lyft.
“Just keep the pouch between your gum and lip for a minimum of five minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes. DON'T SWALLOW IT!” she says.
It does not end there, from the comments people ask how they can assess the product and she directs them to where she got.
The video currently has more than 13,000 views, and the question that might ponder on a parent is, did my child see it? Or is my child curious enough to try?
We can only imagine!
