Nicotine pouches in Kenya.
Kenya has made
significant progress in tobacco control, yet tobacco and nicotine use among
adolescents continues to rise as a silent threat, one that places our nation’s
youngest population at risk of addiction, long-term disease, and preventable
death. The newly released Kenya Data on Youth and Tobacco (DaYTA) Survey 2024
now gives us the clearest national picture to date of the extent of this
problem.
As a youth public
health advocate deeply invested in tobacco control, these findings are both
alarming and energizing. They reinforce what many of us working in the field
have long suspected: Kenyan adolescents are being targeted, exposed, and
increasingly drawn into early experimentation with harmful products, some as
early as five or six years old.
This article
highlights the key findings, why the youth must be the central focus, and the
urgent policy and societal actions required to protect Kenya’s next generation.
The DaYTA Survey
sampled 6,435 adolescents aged 10–17 years from 16 counties, making it one of
the largest, most representative adolescent tobacco surveys ever conducted in
Kenya.
About 6.46% of adolescents
have ever used a tobacco or nicotine product, equivalent to ~622,000
adolescents nationally. About 2.52% are current users, around 244,000 adolescents
actively using these products.
Ever use of any
tobacco product stands at 6.20% (598,000 adolescents), while current use is
2.47% (239,000 adolescents), with boys recording significantly higher ever-use
rates (8.84%) compared to girls (4.20%). Notably, out-of-school adolescents
show the highest vulnerability, with 24.26% having ever used tobacco products
and 17.59% currently using them. Adolescents with a smoking family member were
reportedly far more likely to use tobacco.
Manufactured
cigarettes were initiated as early as 6 years old, with roll-your-own
cigarettes starting at 5 years, while smokeless tobacco initiation averages 9.8
years, well before many children reach upper primary. Cigarettes remain the
most widely used product with 3.23% ever use, followed closely by smokeless
tobacco at 3.36%, and although novel products such as e-cigarettes, nicotine
pouches, and heated tobacco products show lower overall use, their uptake is
steadily rising, particularly in urban areas.
Despite advertising
bans, 1 in 10 adolescents still reported seeing tobacco promotions at points of
sale, with exposure highest among urban youth and those from wealthier
households.
Only 44% of
adolescents who had ever used tobacco understood its health effects, with
in-school adolescents showing significantly higher awareness (54.4%) compared
to out-of-school youth (10.8%). Encouragingly, 45% of current users intend to
quit within the next 12 months, driven largely by health concerns and family
disapproval.
Young people are the
most profitable future market for the tobacco and nicotine industry. Their
brains are still developing, making them highly susceptible to addiction and
peer influence. With 41.5% of Kenya’s population being youth, the industry
recognizes the long-term economic value of capturing this demographic.
The DaYTA 2024
Survey provides a clear roadmap for reducing adolescent tobacco and nicotine
use, calling for urgent national action. Kenya must update the Tobacco Control
Act (2007) to regulate e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco
products, close loopholes that allow sales near schools, and strengthen
penalties for retailers who violate youth protection laws. Enforcement should
be enhanced through stronger monitoring of point-of-sale advertising,
especially in urban retail spaces.
Schools should integrate evidence-based
tobacco prevention education into the curriculum, while nationwide awareness
efforts must invest in digital-first campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube,
and radio, including messaging that counters myths about “safe” or “less
harmful” products. A multi-sectoral approach is essential, engaging ministries
beyond health such as Education, ICT, Interior, and Trade, and supporting
youth-led organizations to drive grassroots mobilization. Finally, empowering
parents with tools to discuss tobacco use and mobilizing communities to
recognize early signs of use and intervene supportively will strengthen the
protective environment around adolescents.
The DaYTA 2024
findings present both a warning and an opportunity. over 622,000 adolescents
have experimented with tobacco, and initiation begins in early childhood. Yet
nearly half of current users want to quit, proof that change is possible if
support systems are strengthened.
Kenya’s young people
are our most powerful resource. Protecting them from tobacco and nicotine
addiction is not just a public health responsibility, it is a national
priority.
The writer is a
Public Health Advocate, Tobacco Control Champion.