NAIROBI, Kenya April 8-National Treasury is now seeking to stamp its foot on the ever-increasing nicotine addiction by changing the taxation regime for liquid nicotine from the current shillings per unit to an excise duty of Sh70 per milliliter.
If the proposals will be passed by the August house, the e-cigarettes, also known as vaporizers or vapes will cost more so as to ensure they are not easily available.
Treasury Boss Ukur Yatani while presenting the highlights of the Sh3.3 trillion budget stated that the introduction of new products beyond e-cigarettes has led to addictions which are negatively affecting the health of citizens.
“The design of these products and their taxation regime makes them easily accessible to users including to school children and the youth, thus leading to nicotine addiction and consequently smoking and use of other drugs,” said Yatani.
The CS treasury noted that the design of liquid nicotine has made it easily accessible to school-going children and the youth thus leading to addiction.
“In order to prevent these habits and make the liquid nicotine used in these devices less accessible to users including to school children and the youth, I propose to change the taxation regime,” Yatani stated.
The usage of e-cigarettes has increased in Kenya ever since the ban on Shisha in 2017.
Similar to shisha , vapes come in different flavors and can also be refilled and recharged making them reusable and less expensive.
Tobacco kills more than seven million people each year, with more than six million of those deaths being a result of direct tobacco use.
This has led to a shift in smoking trends, with alternatives such as e-cigarettes coming into the market. The nicotine content in the vape pens varies from zero to extra high or 24-36mg per millilitre.
In Kenya, there is no clear policy to regulate or guide the use, sale and consumption of e-cigarettes.
In adolescents, e-cigarettes have been termed addictive as it triggers changes in the brain.
Studies have shown that regular usage of E-cigarettes may expose the lungs to different substances.
