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"id": 234165,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/234165/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. ole Metito",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Youth Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 199,
"legal_name": "Judah Katoo Ole-Metito",
"slug": "judah-ole-metito"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. First, I take this opportunity to thank His Excellency the President for appointing me as an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Youth Affairs. I wish to say it is an honour to the people of Kajiado South Constituency and to the youth of this nation. It is my sincere belief that I will measure up to the task ahead. On the subject matter, I want from the outset to support this Bill, it is long over due. This Bill has been brought before this House on many occasions, since 2001. It is high time that this House took this Bill very seriously and passed it, so that it becomes law. I am very encouraged by the object and aim of this Bill, that is to protect the health of Kenyans. It is good to regulate the sale, use and advertisement of tobacco products for several reasons. Clause 3(a) of the Bill says:- \"The object and purpose of this Act is to provide a legal framework for the manufacture, sale, promotion and use of tobacco products in order to- November 16, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3755 (a) protect the health of Kenyans in light of conclusive evidence implicating tobacco use in the incidence of debilitating and fatal diseases;\" There is reason to protect the health of Kenyans because of the alarming statistics and results of research that have been carried out. According to the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA), in every eight seconds, someone dies as a result of using tobacco products. This translates to about 45,000 people dying annually. It is high time we came up with measures and a legal framework to try and reduce the number of deaths. Research conducted by NACADA also shows that out of every 10 smokers seven start smoking at teenage. In relation to this issue, Clause 3(c) says:- \"there is need to protect the health of persons under the age of eighteen years by restricting their access to tobacco products.\" Many people start smoking when they are under the age of 18 years. There is need to restrict smoking of tobacco products to people above the age of 18 years. I agree with all the items under Clause 3 of this Bill. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support Clause 4 on Administration, which gives the Minister power to enforce several things. However, I have an issue with Clause 4(a) which says:- \"Notwithstanding the provisions of any other written law for the time being in force, the Minister, on the recommendation of the Board, may- (a) prescribe the permissible levels of tar, nicotine and such other constituent of tobacco products or their emissions as the Minister may specify, which levels shall not exceed the levels set by the International Standards Organisation\" This is a very good idea. My only worry is how to enforce it and measure those permissible levels to ensure that they are not above certain levels. That is the only way we can achieve the objectives of this Bill, by controlling the permissible levels of such constituents of tobacco and tobacco products. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on Clause 5 on the Establishment of the Board, this is well constituted. The board is made up of professionals from various institutions. However, I have an issue with Clause 5(1)(i) which says:- \"There is established a board to be known as the Tobacco Products Regulatory Board which shall consist of- (i) one representative of religious organisations appointed by the Minister;\" If you look at all the other members of the proposed board, they are all appointed by their respective institutions apart from the representative from the religious organisations who is supposed to be appointed by the Minister. It is my considered opinion that it is good to have such a representative, but why not leave it for the religious organisations to appoint him or her? For example, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) for that matter and other religious organisations should be left to appoint one of their own to be a member of the board. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Director of Medical Services, the Chief Public Health Officer and a representative of the Kenya Medical Association will all come from their respective organisations. It is only fair that religious organisations are given an opportunity to nominate one of their own as a representative to the proposed board. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Clause 8(1) says:- \"No person shall sell a tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years.\" This is very good. It goes in line with one of the reasons why we should pass this Bill into a law. That is to stop the sale of tobacco and tobacco products to young people. In relation to the issue of 3756 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 16, 2006 age, there is an issue I would like to raise with regard to Clause 8(4), which says:- \"For purposes of this section, the following documentation may be used to verify a person's age- (a) a national identity card issued by the Republic of Kenya; (b) a driving licence issued by the Republic of Kenya or any other country; (c) a passport issued by the Republic of Kenya or any other country; or (d) any other documentation as the Minister may prescribe.\" In Kenya, to get a passport or driving license, someone must first have a national identity card. That is the most important document to verify the age of a person who is buying tobacco products. This reminds us of the common problem of the lack of identity cards by Kenyans. I really wonder what the practicality of this Clause is. It is very good that we restrict the use and the sale of tobacco and tobacco products to people above the age of 18 years. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in some parts of this country, there are people who have attained the age of 18 years, but they do not have national identity cards. That is why I was questioning the practicability of Clause 8. This particular clause will help the Ministry in charge of registration of persons to ensure that every person who has attained the age of 18 years and above has a national identity card. That, for sure, will be a blessing because it will enable those people to get jobs and even register as voters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is common knowledge that it is not a mistake of the youth of this country no to have identity cards. The problem has been caused by existing rules and procedures. If you do not have a national identity card, you definitely will not have the other documents that one requires to produce in order to prove that he or she is not under the age of 18 years. We all know that, in this country, you must have a national identity card before you get other important documents. Clause 21 is about promotion at sporting events and so on. It states as follows: \"No person shall advertise tobacco or a tobacco product by means of organising, promoting, or sponsoring a sporting, cultural, artistic, recreational or entertainment programme, event or activity---\". This particular Clause is very good because whenever we have such activities, the youth attend in large numbers and those who promote the use of tobacco products should not use such avenues as promotion centres. With regard to involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke, that is a very good point. Clause 29 addresses this point when it talks of prohibited smoking areas. It is very important because, from what we have read, non-smokers who inhale the smoke that has been exhaled by smokers are exposed to serious health risks. So, it is good that this Bill defines the prohibited smoking areas. I totally agree with the contents of Clause 29(2). However, we need to include pubs as areas where smoking is prohibited. Owners of pubs must be made to provide specially designated smoking areas. I think that Clause 31 elaborates that particular point. The Schedule of the Bill refers to some of the diseases that are directly or indirectly caused by use of tobacco products and inhaling tobacco smoke. The Schedule has endeavoured to summarize all of them. I was looking at a research that was done by NACADA and it shows how the use of tobacco can harm every part of the body. For instance, the research reveals that as a result of smoking one can suffer from the following: loss of hair on the head, loss of sight; reduced blood flow to the ears; skin cancer; teeth decay; lung cancer; weakening of bones and reduced bone density; heart disease; stomach ulcers; staining of fingers and finger nails to a yellowish-brown colour and so on. Every part of the body is, therefore, affected as a result of inhaling tobacco smoke. We are told that use of tobacco causes skin wrinkling. In women, tobacco use causes miscarriages, still-births, low birth-weight babies, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In men, November 16, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3757 tobacco use causes impotence, infertility and so on. I think those are reasons enough to make us support this Bill which seeks to regulate the growing, sale, use and distribution of tobacco and its products. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}