BY LUCY ANAYA
 
When the Kenyan Parliament enacted the Tobacco Control Act 2007, Kenyans breathed a sign of relief. The act controls production, manufacture, sale, labeling, advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, to provide for the Tobacco Control Board, to regulate smoking in specified areas.

The move was welcomed from different quarters. It was going to safeguard the lives of many.
We have been at the fore front in facilitating public education on the dangers of tobacco growing, use and exposure to second hand smoking in order to reduce deaths and disability in this country bearing in mind that tobacco is the leading cause of death in the world today, responsible for the death of over five million people per year world-wide.

What is sad is that the government currently has ignored the laws they put in place. The tobacco movement’s fight to make Kenya truly and effectively tobacco-free has been frustrated by the industry and some relevant authorities.
 
For instance, a couple of months ago, the Permanent Secretary (PS) Ministry of Local Government Sammy Kirui was reported in a section of the media, of having directed local authorities to remove designated public smoking zones established according to their bylaws.
The media stated that in a circular to Nairobi City Council and other civic authorities, the PS argued that smoking outdoors in open places including any public street, beaches and open areas is not banned under the act (read The Standard newspaper dated 20th Sep 2009).

Such a move was humiliation and a big blow to municipal councils and anti-tobacco advocates.

For a long time, the municipal councils and anti tobacco movement had invested all their time, energies and intellectual prowess to campaign against smoking in public places. A move that had seen our streets free of smokers who had become a nuisance.
The running battles we have been witnessing, between council askaris and the smokers are long gone to the drains.

Today, it not a surprise to smoke along the streets of Nairobi, at the entrance of a pub or restaurant.  The public is questioning what really went wrong and the manner in which the decision to allow outdoor smoking was arrived at by the PS.

It is also in the public interest, that the Government invested a lot of money and resources in training Public Health officers and enforcement officers from different  disciplines country wide, to help curb tobacco smoking in public.  All these efforts and dreams of making our municipal councils clean and safe from tobacco smoke and litters have been shuttered!

If the officers at the Local Authorities love this country then they should ignore the statement for the following reasons:
 
i) Kenyans are entitled to tobacco smoke free environment as contained in the section 31 (I) and (2) of the Tobacco Control Act 2007.
ii) The streets in most Kenyan towns are public places, they are heavily congested hence the danger of second hand smoking unavoidable if out door smoking is allowed.
iii) Tobacco smoking is a habit that benefits none other than the industry, smokers are victims of captivity by tobacco manufacturers.
iv) The health consequences of tobacco consumption in various ways have devastating health impacts, this is well documented. 40 chemicals found in Cigarette are known to cause incurable diseases such as lung cancer, cancer of the throat, heart diseases among others.

The violation of the act is a wake up call to the ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, whose docket tobacco issues fall. They are expected to take stern action by writing to the Ministry of Local Government, clearly stating their stand and popularizing the act.  

To tobacco advocates, you are challenged not sit and watch individuals and institutions go against the spirit of the Tobacco Control Act with impunity, very much in spite of and against the known facts.

The latest research done by Associated press indicates that tobacco is likely going to kill a billion people, by the end of the 21st Century. 250 million children alive today, are likely to die from tobacco related diseases if nothing is done to prevent it. The report goes further to explain that nicotine the drug in tobacco is six times more addictive than cocaine or heroin making it the most addicting substance known to man.

COMMUNICATION OFFICER, KENYA TOBACCO CONTROL ALLIANCE (KETCA)

ENDS…./