Delay by Design: How CASA Is Undermining Kenya’s Tobacco Control Bill

🚨 Tobacco Industry Interference Alert 🚨: TIIDWI2025 005

Context: Tobacco Industry Interference Digital Watch Initiative

The Tobacco Industry Interference Digital Watch Initiative is a public health advocacy effort aimed at monitoring, exposing, and countering the tactics used by the tobacco and nicotine industry to delay, dilute, or derail tobacco control policies in Kenya. This includes identifying misleading narratives, lobbying disguised as public interest, and the misuse of “lived experience” to promote harmful products.

The opinion piece by the Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA) is the fifth article flagged under this initiative. It is a textbook example of industry-aligned delay tactics, misinformation, and strategic framing aimed at undermining the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024—a bill designed to regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including vapes, nicotine pouches, and e-cigarettes (KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT, 2024).

Below is a counterpoints to the claims made by CASA in their article published by Capital NEWS.

1. Delay Tactics Disguised as Public Participation

CASA’s Claim: The Senate Health Committee must reopen public hearings because new members were not part of earlier discussions.

Counterpoint:
This is a deliberate stalling tactic. The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has already undergone public participation under the previous committee. Reopening hearings every time membership changes would set a dangerous precedent—paralyzing legislative progress and allowing industry proxies to delay regulation indefinitely.

The real motive is to buy time and derail the swift regulation of nicotine products, just as British American Tobacco (BAT) did with the 2014 Tobacco Control Regulations, which were tied up in court for years (FCTC Secretariat, 2020). CASA is following the same playbook. We see it! We are watching! Our eyes on you.

2. Misleading Claims on “Punitive” Taxes and Restrictions

CASA’s Claim: Kenya’s tobacco control relies on prohibition, punitive taxation, and restrictions on safer alternatives, which have failed to reduce smoking.

Counterpoint:
This is false and misleading. Tobacco taxation is one of the most effective tools for reducing tobacco use, especially among youth and low-income populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a 10% increase in tobacco prices leads to a 4–5% reduction in consumption in high-income countries and up to 8% in low- and middle-income countries (World Health Organization, 2021).

Taxes:

• Discourage initiation, especially among youth.
• Encourage quitting among current users.
• Generate revenue for cessation programs, public education, and enforcement (World Health Organization, 2021).

Kenya’s approach is evidence-based, not punitive. The real issue is the aggressive marketing of unregulated nicotine products, not taxation.

3. “Less Harmful” ≠ Safe

CASA’s Claim: Modern nicotine alternatives are significantly less harmful than cigarettes because they eliminate combustion.

Counterpoint:
This is a half-truth. While ENDS may reduce exposure to some harmful chemicals, they are not harmless.

They still deliver addictive nicotine, which affects brain development in adolescents. Further, these products contain toxic substances like formaldehyde, heavy metals, and flavoring chemicals linked to lung disease.   They are also associated with cardiovascular and respiratory risks (Dennison Himmelfarb et al., 2025).

The “less harmful” narrative is a smokescreen for market expansion. If CASA truly cared about smokers’ health, they would support complete cessation, not switching addictions.

4. Co-opting “Lived Experience” to Push Products

CASA’s Claim: People with lived experience of smoking should be heard because safer alternatives helped them quit.

Counterpoint:
This is a manipulative tactic. The tobacco industry has realized that “lived experience” is gaining traction in public health discourse (Harris et al., 2023; WHO, 2023). So they’ve co-opted it—using unverifiable personal stories to promote nicotine products.

Key questions:

• Where is the evidence that these individuals were ever smokers?
• Are these stories independently verified or just anecdotal marketing?
• Why are these “testimonies” always aligned with industry interests?

This is not empowerment—it’s exploitation of public trust.

5. True Health Comes from Quitting, Not Switching

CASA’s Claim: Safer alternatives helped people reclaim their health.

Counterpoint:
True health is achieved by quitting all forms of nicotine, not by switching from one harmful product to another. Promoting ENDS as a “health solution” is deceptive. It keeps users hooked on nicotine, often leading to dual use (smoking and vaping) rather than cessation.

The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is not about prohibition—it’s about regulation. It seeks to:

• Define and regulate ENDS and nicotine pouches.
• Restrict marketing and flavors that appeal to youth.
• Close legal loopholes that allow nicotine addiction to flourish.

Conclusion: The Public Deserves Protection, Not Propaganda

The opinion piece by CASA is a push to delay the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024, under the guise of seeking additional public input. This aligns with historical patterns of tobacco industry interference aimed at obstructing regulatory progress. It’s imperative that policymakers recognize these tactics and prioritize the health and well-being of the Kenyan population. Swift enactment of comprehensive tobacco control measures, including the regulation of emerging nicotine products, is essential to curb the tobacco epidemic and protect future generations.

Reference list

• Dennison Himmelfarb, C.R., Benowitz, N.L., Blank, M.D., Bhatnagar, A., Chase, P.J., Davis, E.M., Fetterman, J.L., Keller-Hamilton, B., Ogungbe, O., Page, R.L., Rezk-Hanna, M., Robertson, R.M. and Whitsel, L.P. (2025). Impact of Smokeless Oral Nicotine Products on Cardiovascular Disease: Implications for Policy, Prevention, and Treatment: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 151(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000001293.
• FCTC Secretariat (2020). Supreme Court of Kenya rejects British American Tobacco appeal against Tobacco Control Regulations | WHO FCTC. [online] Who.int. Available at: https://extranet.who.int/fctcapps/fctcapps/fctc/kh/legalchallenges/news/supreme-court-kenya-rejects-british-american-tobacco-appeal [Accessed 9 May 2025].
• Harris, H., Clarkin, C., Jordana Rovet, Crawford, A., Johnson, A., Kirvan, A., Gruszecki, S., Wang, S. and Soklaridis, S. (2023). Meaningful engagement through critical reflexivity: Engaging people with lived experience in continuing mental health professional development. Health Expectations, 26(5). doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13798.
• KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT (2024). THE TOBACCO CONTROL (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2024. [online] Available at: http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2024-08/35.The%20Tobacco%20Control%20%28Amend%29%20Bill%2C%20No.35%20of%202024.pdf [Accessed 9 May 2025].
• WHO (2023). Meaningful Engagement of People with Lived Experience. [online] http://www.who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/groups/gcm/meaningful-engagement-of-people-with-lived-experience [Accessed 9 May 2025].

World Health Organization (2021). Raising taxes on tobacco. [online] http://www.who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/activities/raising-taxes-on-tobacco [Accessed 9 May 2025].