Kenya is among the countries that have failed to maintain best-practice tobacco tax levels, missing a critical opportunity to reduce tobacco use, save lives and unlock new revenue for health financing.
A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Kenya is among 20 countries that have either never reached or have since fallen below the threshold, where tobacco taxes account for at least 75 percent of the retail price of cigarettes; a benchmark regarded as the most effective tool for tobacco control.
Kenya’s tobacco tax share is between 70 percent and 74 percent of the retail price as of 2024, placing it within five percentage points of the WHO’s recommended best-practice level of 75 percent.
Best-practice tobacco taxation, as defined by the WHO, means that total taxes, including excise, value added tax, and other applicable levies, account for at least 75 percent of the retail price of the best-selling brand of cigarettes.
Reaching this threshold represents a powerful alignment of financial and health policies and signals a government’s commitment to deterring smoking, preventing disease, and reducing healthcare costs.
“Of the 20 countries that have not maintained their previous achievement of a best-practice tax share, six are mentioned above as having a tax share between 70 percent and 74 percent in 2024... Kenya [is] among them...,” read the report.
Other countries in this category are Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Morocco, Sri Lanka, and South Sudan. Among the countries that have increased their efforts is Belarus, which raised its tobacco tax from 56.6 percent in 2022 to 76.9 percent in 2024, joining countries like Indonesia and Palau, which have achieved best-practice status.
The WHO reports that, globally, 1.2 billion people now live in countries that have adopted best-practice tobacco taxes, including 128 million people in 24 of the world’s largest cities. However, no Kenyan city has made it to that list. Internationally, countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Uzbekistan introduced reforms that elevated them to the top-performing category.
"Taxing tobacco is one of the most cost-effective and impactful interventions governments can implement. It works, it saves lives, and it pays for itself. Every country has the power to protect its people from tobacco," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Tobacco is a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancer, heart disease, and chronic respiratory illnesses, which together account for more than a third of all deaths in Kenya.
Despite having formally agreed to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and established the Tobacco Control Act, Kenya's taxation policy is not strong enough.
The absence of a strong tax regime keeps cigarette prices relatively low, especially for young people and low-income populations, where price sensitivity is highest.
According to the WHO, a 10 percent price increase on tobacco products can lead to a five percent reduction in consumption in low- and middle-income countries, with an even stronger effect on youth.
In 2023, Kenya collected an estimated Sh20 billion in tobacco excise tax revenue, while the Ministry of Health reports that Kenya loses approximately Sh15 billion annually in direct healthcare expenses and productivity losses from tobacco-related illnesses.
