Ensure Prompt Passage of Tobacco Control LI -MATCO Urges AG

The Media Alliance in Tobacco Control (MATCO) has challenged the Attorney Generals Department to expedite action on a draft Legislative Instrument (LI) currently before it for onward submission to parliament for early passage in to make the Public Health Act, Act 851 enforceable.

The Public Health Act, Act 851, 2012 which was passed in July 2012 and given presidential accent into law in October same year still remain unenforceable due to the absence of an LI.

Part six of the Act which addresses Tobacco Control measures prohibits smoking in public places, sale of tobacco to children, bans the advertisement of tobacco products and abhors tobacco sponsorships among others.

According to the tobacco control advocates, the LI which was drafted by the Ministry of Health through broad stakeholder consultation and forwarded to the Attorney General`s Department for legal fine tuning is long overdue hence the urgent need for it to proceed to parliament for early passage.

Speaking in an interview with The Insight, Chairman of MATCO, Mr Jeorge Kingson Wilson lamented that, the absence of an LI is gradually killing the future generation of the country through second hand smoking and the abuse of tobacco products.

He expressed fear that, the delay may result in the Kenyan example where it took eight long years for the enactment of an LI to implement that country`s Tobacco control law.

MATCO also alleged that Tobacco manufacturing companies are behind the delay and challenged the minister of health to prove the claim wrong by expediting the passage of the LI.