Tobacco and nicotine industry is increasingly targeting young people in Kenya. [Courtesy]
Stakeholders in the entertainment industry have petitioned Parliament, calling for comprehensive, nationwide public participation in the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Under the aegis of the Pubs, Entertainment and Restaurants Association of Kenya (PERAK), industry players in the petition presented to the National Assembly yesterday stressed the need to engage Kenyans on the Bill before it proceeds any further.
PERAK Chairman Michael Muthami led the team in presenting the petition, while they called for evidence-based, open and transparent public participation on the Bill.
“Our position is simple: any law that will significantly impact businesses, consumers, traders, and livelihoods across the country must be informed by the views of the people it will affect. We believe the current public participation arrangements are inadequate and do not provide sufficient opportunity for Kenyans from all regions to make their views known,” Muthami said.
He said PERAK members are particularly concerned about proposals that could raise the cost of doing business, impose additional licensing requirements on traders, and potentially fuel illicit trade through measures such as flavour bans on tobacco and nicotine products.
He said members believe these issues warrant wider consultation and a more thorough assessment of their economic and practical implications.
“We have today presented petitions from Kenyans drawn from various constituencies who are asking Parliament, through the National Assembly's Committee on Health, to take this conversation beyond Nairobi and into the counties. This is especially important given the concerns that many stakeholders have raised regarding some of the proposed amendments,” he affirmed.