The rise in flavoured nicotine products, coupled with aggressive social media marketing and internet sales, is creating a new wave of addiction. Last week, Chiromo Hospital Group hosted an
event centered on vaping as a harm reduction strategy. I chose not to
attend—not out of indifference, but principle. To accept harm reduction as
legitimate in the context of nicotine addiction is to fall into a trap laid by
industry actors, dressed as public health champions.
For a hospital owned and run by a leading
psychiatrist to publicly embrace this position is a deep disappointment.
Medical institutions should be the last bastion of integrity, not the next
billboard for nicotine producers.
Vaping is not a step-down from smoking; it is
a calculated detour that leads young people back to addiction—just packaged
with fruit flavours and influencer aesthetics. Nicotine is a neurotoxin,
especially damaging to adolescent brains. It interferes with cognitive
development, impairs emotional regulation, and accelerates dependency. The
youth—our children—are the primary targets of these products, not the so-called
“adult smokers” cited in harm reduction arguments. Studies show that vaping
increases the likelihood of smoking initiation, not cessation.
The harm doesn’t end with addiction. Across
the globe, young people are reporting serious health complications: respiratory
distress, collapsed lungs, and neurological symptoms. Mental health impacts are
also on the rise—anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are increasingly
correlated with regular vape use.
Kenya is not immune. The rise in flavored
nicotine products, coupled with aggressive social media marketing and internet
sales, is creating a new wave of addiction. We commend recent steps taken by
the Ministry of Health, such as mandating graphic health warnings on all
nicotine products. But this must be the beginning, not the end. The Ministry
must issue a clear and unequivocal position: vaping is harmful, and its
promotion as a harm reduction tool must be rejected.
The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024
offers a promising path forward. It proposes bans on online sales, social media
marketing, and flavoured products that appeal to children. These measures must
be passed, funded, and enforced. Additionally, excise taxes on novel nicotine
products must be increased and maintained at deterrent levels. Enforcement
mechanisms for licensing and age restrictions must be robust, transparent, and
incorruptible.
Hospitals
and medical professionals must also draw a hard line. By aligning with harm
reduction narratives, they risk becoming enablers of the very problem they seek
to solve. These narratives are not designed to promote health – they are
strategies to ensure that nicotine remains in the bloodstream of the next
generation. This is not about ideology. It is about integrity. It is about
protecting our children from a future of addiction disguised as innovation.
In policy circles, we often talk of
evidence-based approaches. The evidence on vaping is clear, and so must be our
stance. There is no reduction in harm when the harm is repackaged, redirected,
and amplified. Let us not confuse treatment with complicity.
Ms. Karambu Muthaura is a Health Taxes Policy
and Administration Expert, a tobacco control advocate and a member of the UN
Subcommittee on Health Taxes.