Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1284278,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1284278/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 190,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Kamar",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 33,
        "legal_name": "Margaret Jepkoech Kamar",
        "slug": "margaret-kamar"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, in our laws, we talk of the minimum age of 18 years. Has it made any impact? The highest concentration of use of the e-cigarettes- that I am learning the name today, is in the high schools. Our high schools have really become a den of drugs. Now we are trying to get other rules in the schools through the Boards of Management (BOM) to ensure that when children go to school, they are searched until they are almost searched naked to make sure that they are carrying nothing. What does it mean? It means even this age gap of 18 is not working. Although we are saying you cannot sell to somebody who is not below 18 years old, it is not controlling anything. It means there are people who are doing business with the younger population. It also implies that the main seller may be selling to somebody above 18 years but there is somebody else who is delivering the same goods to children in school. It has been very difficult to control because when we talk of visiting days, everybody is worried because they do not know whether it is the parents who bring these things. However, there are those people who sneak in alongside the parents. Can schools control the parents so that they can ensure that the parents are truly parents and they do not have any intruders coming in? It is difficult. We also have watchmen in schools. My cry is for the young ones who are below 18 years old that we are losing. Our highest population is in that bracket right now. The highest concentration and the peak population in Kenya is around that bracket. If we lose, we are going to lose more than one generation. I would like to support this Motion and really thank Sen. Mumma for coming up with it before this House. We need to go beyond that because what we have has not helped us nor improved the way we behave. We need to know what comes into the country and who is actually bringing it. We need to know each brand the way it is. There was a regulation that was put by Parliament sometimes back. Even a cigarette company should label on the cigarette pack that it is dangerous for your health. Has it stopped people from smoking? No. So, there is something addictive about this and we need to tighten things more. You cannot tell me you are selling poison, and at the same time, say that this poison you are selling needs to be taken in small doses. What exactly is being communicated by those who are selling it if they are writing, that is dangerous for your health? They are still telling you that you can have a bit but do not have too much. I want to encourage Sen. Mumma in the proposed Bill to regulate it properly. We must have a way of penalising anybody found with those drugs, particularly under 18 years old in schools. What kind of penalty can we give such people to the extent that others will be discouraged from destroying this generation? It cannot be allowed to continue as a business because the manufacturers are using the middlemen and the middlemen are able to reach any age set. It is easy to tell a grown-up to consume less, but our youth do not have control. Within no time, addiction comes in and we do not know what to do. It is it is very pathetic because once they are addicted, it is like a disease. We cannot blame them. You cannot arrest a drunkard and get anything out of such a person. We just have to rehabilitate them. It is very, very important that we regulate this by law so that we know the penalties that go with it. We know even the penalties that go with The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}