Traders in Nakuru are petitioning the Senate to delay the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, calling for wider public participation before it is passed.
The Bill, sponsored by ODM nominated Senator Dr. Catherine Mumma, seeks to ban flavoured vapes and nicotine pouches while tightening regulations on other tobacco products. Its aim is to update the 2007 Tobacco Control Act, restrict advertising, and regulate new nicotine products.
The Bar, Hotels and Liquor Traders Association (BAHLITA) warned that banning flavours could worsen illicit trade, reduce government revenue, and push consumers toward unregulated products. BAHLITA Secretary General Boniface Gachoka said the current law already safeguards youth under 18 from accessing nicotine products.
The association urged the Senate to fully involve Kenyans in the lawmaking process, arguing that excessive restrictions could threaten jobs, limit access to safer alternatives, and drive more consumers to the black market, where 45 percent of cigarettes are already traded illicitly.
BAHLITA Treasurer Josiah Wanyika called on lawmakers to focus on enforcing existing laws rather than introducing new measures that may harm businesses and revenue.
The Bill proposes strict measures including child-proof packaging, bans on online advertising, prohibitions on giveaways, and heavy fines and jail terms for offenders. It also outlines designated smoking zones and bans tobacco use in public spaces, schools, hospitals, transport terminals, and other sensitive areas.
Lawmakers are now being urged to balance public health objectives with economic and social realities, ensuring that new regulations do not inadvertently fuel illegal trade or harm livelihoods.
 Bill 2024, calling for wider public participation before it is passed.){kind=link}