Traders Urge Senate to Halt Tobacco Bill, Threaten Legal Action
Boniface Gachoka, Secretary General- Bar, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya (BAHLITA)
Traders under the banner of the Bars, Hotels, and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya, BAHLITA, have today asked the Senate to halt further proceedings on a contentious tobacco bill before it, and allow for broader consultations.
This follows strong opposing views expressed by traders in Mombasa and Eldoret counties over the past week, who have similarly asked the Senate to reconsider some of the provisions contained in the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill of 2024.
The bill, which is currently at the committee stage of the Senate in Nairobi, has continued to draw mixed reactions from a cross-section of Kenyans, amongst them business traders, who have cautioned that certain proposed provisions in it will be detrimental to their businesses.
Speaking in Nakuru City today, BAHLITA Secretary General, Boniface Gachoka, faulted the Senate for failing to conduct wider public consultations on the bill, saying it’s key among the reasons why it has drawn widespread public backlash – particularly from the association’s 54,000 members.
“There was no sufficient public participation on this bill as the Senate only held limited engagements in Nairobi instead of conducting hearings and collecting submissions across the counties. It is our view that public participation on a bill affecting many Kenyans should have been done at the grassroots level for our members to give their input and submissions,” he said.
He added that the proposal to ban flavours in nicotine products is misguided, saying that it would only fuel the illicit trade of same products as consumers seek to find alternatives.
“We don’t understand why there is apprehension regarding flavoured nicotine products. The bill is proposing to ban flavours in these products which is something that simply does not make sense. We have flavours in other products such as beer, food, cakes, so we see no rational point of banning them in nicotine products. If anything, banning flavours in these products will only increase the sale of their illicit equivalents in the market thereby denying our businesses and the government much needed revenue.”
He called on the Senate to halt proceedings on the bill, adding that failure to do so would force them to seek legal avenues to solve the grievances they have against sections of the proposed law.
“We urge senators to do the right thing and halt proceedings on the bill to allow for further consultations. Otherwise, we will be forced to seek legal redress. We don’t want to take that route as we are not opposed to regulations, and that is why we are asking the senate to consider our proposal for further consultations and deliberations to come up with a highly negotiated document that will help curb the trade of illicit nicotine and tobacco products in the country, and control the new products that have been introduced in the market by the tobacco industry.”
Traders in Mombasa and Eldoret made similar separate calls to the Senate on Wednesday last week and on Tuesday this week saying that should the bill progress in its current state, it would lead to significant loss of business as illicit products – which will not have had taxes paid on them – will fill in the void left by the ban.
The calls by the traders come at a time the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has acknowledged that over half of excisable products in the market (such as water, sodas, beer, alcohol, cigarettes, and beauty products) are illicit – meaning they do not have taxes paid on them and neither have they undergone necessary standards checks by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).
The traders have argued that a ban on flavours in nicotine products would flood the market with illicit products which would see them lose out.
The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill of 2024 is sponsored by ODM nominated Senator, Catherine Mumma, to further regulate the production, sale, advertisement and smoking of nicotine products including the use of nicotine pouches and vapes.