On World No Tobacco Day, there is no better way to celebrate than by increasing the excise duty on tobacco and all its by-products, lobby groups say.
This was the rallying cry during the close of a week-long campaign in Nairobi where Fransescah Marabu, the National Taxpayers Association (NTA) programme manager, said the tax increments on tobacco products would go a long way in reducing the country’s population of smokers.
“NTA is focused on advocating for an increase in tobacco tax to 70 per cent of the retail selling price as recommended by the World Health Organisation’s Frame Convention on Tobacco Control,” she said.
On its part, the WHO says quitting the habit is more important now because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The global crisis has supercharged health complications for smokers. Coronavirus gives a strong motivation to quit tobacco use as smokers are at much greater risk. The underlying diseases caused by smoking are key risk factors for death from Covid-19 and smoking is associated with increased severity of disease and death in hospitalised patients,” the global health agency said in a statement marking the day.
Kenya is one of the highest consumers of tobacco in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the number of cigarette sticks smoked per person per year increasing to 264 in 2016, up from 257 in 2014, according to the World Tobacco Atlas.
Vincent Kimosop, a policy expert and CEO of Sovereign Insight, says tobacco control is crucial and challenged the government to do more to shield its citizens from the dangers of smoking. He noted that the country’s porous borders were a huge threat to ongoing efforts aimed at curtailing the use of unlicensed tobacco in Kenya.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
He reckons the country should borrow a leaf from South Africa, which upon gaining self-rule in 1994 increased the excise duty on tobacco products. This move not only saw the price of cigarettes skyrocket, it led to decreased consumption, he says.
“The global tobacco economy is staggering and should nothing be done about it, it will greatly affect the world’s economy to the tune of trillions of dollars in the next two decades. Tobacco is causing deaths, disabilities and diseases and it is a serious matter that should be addressed,” he said.
Speaking during the final campaign day, Kenya Revenue Authority Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement, Ms Ann Irungu, said the agency is working to systematically increase excise tax on all luxury products including tobacco.
“Al luxury products such as beers, ready to drink products, wines and spirits, tobacco and all its products need to have a higher tax. This is because they are harmful and the tax is one of the measures of controlling consumption,” she said.
Despite their efforts, she added, new and emerging nicotine products posed a major challenge. This is because they are not fully incorporated in the approved tax regime when they emerge after known tobacco products have been regulated and taxed effectively, she explained.
