Tobacco smoking in Kenya

Cigarettes are legally allowed for sale and smoke in Kenya, but there are some certain restrictions in place. Under these regulations, health warnings on all packaging of cigarettes and a minimum sales age of 18 years are required. However, there are no legal restrictions on smoking in public places. The product can be legally imported for trade with a license, but there is a comprehensive ban on all advertisements, online sales, and vending machine purchases. Additionally, an excise tax of 19.13%, contributing to a total taxation rate of 32.92%, is applied to cigarettes.

Tobacco smoking in Kenya remains a formidable public health concern. The number of smokers aged 15 and older in 2024 was estimated to be 2,3 million individuals based on the data from the World Health Organization (WHO). This indicates that the overall current smoking prevalence among adults was 6.4%, with a marked gender disparity observed: 12.1% of adult males and 0.9% of adult females were reported to be smokers. This represents a slight decrease from 2020 when the current prevalence among adults was 8.1% overall, 15.6% among adult males and 0.8% among adult females.

In 2021, tobacco smoking accounted for 9,418 deaths, corresponding to 2.63% of all deaths attributed to smoking. Gender differences in smoking-related mortality are evident, with 7810 male deaths (3.81% of all male deaths) and 1608 female deaths (1.05% of all female deaths). For reference, the adult daily smoking prevalence in 2015 was 8.3%, with 16.6% among males and 0.4% among females. These statistics underscore the ongoing challenge of tobacco smoking in Kenya, necessitating continued public health interventions and regulatory measures to reduce smoking prevalence and associated health impacts.