The Eldoret public participation session addressed proposed tobacco licensing requirements and sales restrictions.
Participants at an Eldoret public hearing urged MPs to weigh public health goals against traders’ costs and concerns over a proposed 100-metre sales restriction.
Stakeholders in Uasin Gishu County have asked Parliament to reconsider provisions in the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2025, citing concerns about business licensing costs and the practical enforcement of proposed sales restrictions.
The concerns emerged in Eldoret during the second day of public participation conducted by the National Assembly Health Committee. Participants urged lawmakers to consider how changes to the Tobacco Control Act would affect businesses and livelihoods across the tobacco value chain.
Their submissions called for a balance between public health objectives and the interests of businesses dealing in tobacco products, with particular attention to small traders.
Proposed licence raises cost concerns
One of the provisions under scrutiny would require businesses manufacturing, distributing, storing, selling or otherwise dealing in tobacco products to obtain a licence from the relevant county executive committee member.
Stakeholders argued that this requirement could add another layer of costs and administrative procedures for businesses already paying for single business permits. They described the prospect of an additional licence as potentially amounting to double taxation.
The objection centred on the relationship between the proposed tobacco-specific licence and the permits traders already obtain. Participants asked Parliament to weigh that existing financial burden when considering whether to introduce a further licensing requirement.
The proposed provision would cover several stages of the tobacco business, rather than retail sales alone. This made its implications for the wider value chain part of the concerns presented to the committee.
Questions over 100-metre restriction
Participants also questioned a proposal to prohibit tobacco sales within a 100-metre radius of any place primarily serving people younger than 18.
They argued that implementing the restriction could prove difficult in densely populated and rapidly urbanising areas. Their concerns focused on whether the proposed distance requirement would be workable in those settings.
The sales restriction and licensing provision formed two distinct areas of concern at the hearing: where tobacco products could be sold, and what additional authorisation businesses would need to handle them.
BAT Kenya calls for workable regulation
BAT Kenya Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager Billy Tsuma said the tobacco industry supported progressive regulation, while urging lawmakers to ensure that amendments were grounded in evidence and developed through consultation.
Tsuma also called for rules suited to their intended purpose and capable of practical enforcement, echoing the implementation concerns raised during the public participation session.
The stakeholders’ appeal was for Parliament to account for both public health priorities and business realities as it reviews the Bill. The Eldoret submissions placed licensing obligations, small traders’ livelihoods and the enforceability of sales limits before the committee.
