Campaign for Safer Alternatives urges State to impose high tax on harmful products
Dr Joseph Magero, chairman of the campaign for safe alternatives, has urged the government to highly tax harmful products.
“Taxation of nicotine drugs is critical in regards to making the product available and accessible.
The proposed tax increase will unnecessarily condemn thousands of smokers to disease and premature death,” he added.
By more than doubling the excise duty on alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, the Finance Bill 2022 would put these significantly safer options out of reach of smokers who need them to quit their addiction to cancer-causing tobacco.
If the Bill is passed, e-cigarette devices will carry 40 per cent excise duty, while a new tax structure for refills, meaning a 16 per cent tax increase will be imposed on a 100ml vape.
The excise tax on nicotine pouches will be more than double from Sh1,200 per kilogram in the last Budget to 2,500 per kg.
Dr Michael Kariuki from the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Medicine said: “Our own research at the University of Nairobi shows that Kenyans are choosing to use unregulated and potentially dangerous tobacco and traditional oral stimulants, despite the existence of less risky alternatives.
An excise policy that encouraged the use of products that pose significantly reduced health risks to users would help to improve health and therefore save lives.”
According to the two, tobacco-free alternative nicotine products are proven to be 95 per cent less harmful than combustible cigarettes and the most effective method for smokers to quit their deadly habit.
Dr Nick Mutisya, who was also present at the conference, added that: “Modern tobacco-free nicotine products like pouches and nicotine replacement therapies, expose users to lower levels of toxicants and are, therefore, comparatively less risky.”
Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA) is a pan-African non-governmental member organisation is dedicated to achieving 100 per cent smoke free environments in Africa.
CASA supports cessation by advocating for tailor-made solutions to end smoking and believe it is possible to integrate tobacco harm reduction in the fight against smoking.
CASA’s aim is to provide smokers and health professionals with evidence-based information on safer alternatives to smoking.
