RETRAK CEO Opposes Tobacco Amendment Bill Over Risks to Legitimate Retailers

The Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK) has strongly opposed the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, warning that its restrictive provisions—particularly the proposed ban on online sales and significant increases in licensing fees—will push tobacco products underground, expand the illicit trade market and severely damage legitimate small and micro retailers across the country.

RETRAK Chief Executive Officer Wambui Mbarire made the position clear during a stakeholder forum held in Nairobi on February 12, 2026, where she addressed members of Parliament, Ministry of Health officials, retailers and public health advocates. Mbarire argued that while public health objectives are important, the current draft takes a punitive rather than pragmatic approach that ignores economic realities on the ground.

“The bill as currently framed creates an artificial conflict between public health and legitimate business,” Mbarire said. “Kenya does not have to choose between the two. Both goals can be advanced through balanced, evidence-based regulation that targets actual harm while preserving legal channels of trade and protecting the livelihoods of thousands of small family-owned shops.”

She highlighted the proposed prohibition of online sales of tobacco products as particularly problematic for the retail sector. “Most small retailers already operate on razor-thin margins,” Mbarire explained. “Removing the legal online channel will not stop online sales; it will simply move them to the black market where there is no age verification, no tax collection and no quality control. The winners will be criminal networks, not public health.”

Mbarire also criticised the steep proposed increases in licensing fees, describing them as “disproportionate and punitive” for micro and small enterprises that sell tobacco as one of many low-margin products. “A small kiosk owner selling a few packets of cigarettes per day alongside sodas, sweets and airtime cannot absorb licensing fees that triple or quadruple overnight,” she said. “Many will be forced to close or stop selling tobacco legally, again driving consumers straight into the hands of illicit traders.”

According to RETRAK estimates, the illicit cigarette trade already accounts for between 30 and 40 percent of the market in Kenya, resulting in massive revenue losses for both the National Treasury and compliant businesses. Mbarire warned that the bill’s measures could push that figure significantly higher. “When legal channels become too expensive or too restricted, consumers do not stop buying—they simply buy from illegal sources,” she stated. “We have seen this pattern in other countries that adopted overly restrictive regimes without addressing enforcement capacity.”

The CEO emphasised that RETRAK fully supports evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco consumption, particularly among youth, but insisted that regulation must be practical and enforceable. “We are not defending tobacco; we are defending the rule of law and legitimate commerce,” Mbarire said. “Punitive measures without corresponding enforcement capacity create black markets. Balanced regulation with strong enforcement protects both health and business.”

She outlined several practical alternatives RETRAK believes would achieve public health goals without destroying small retail livelihoods:

• Maintaining legal online sales with robust age verification, digital track-and-trace systems and mandatory health warnings
• Gradual, tiered increases in licensing fees based on business size and turnover rather than blanket hikes
• Strengthening enforcement against illicit trade through better border controls, intelligence sharing and severe penalties for smuggling networks
• Investing in public education and cessation programmes rather than relying primarily on supply-side restrictions
• Regular independent impact assessments before implementing major regulatory changes

Mbarire concluded by extending an olive branch to policymakers. “Retailers are ready to engage constructively with lawmakers and the Ministry of Health,” she said. “We want to help design policies that are practical, enforceable and grounded in evidence. Let us sit together, look at the data and find solutions that save lives without destroying livelihoods.”

The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, sponsored by a group of MPs, seeks to close perceived loopholes in the existing 2007 Act, including regulating emerging products, strengthening advertising restrictions and increasing penalties for violations. Public health groups have strongly supported the bill, arguing that current laws are outdated and insufficient to address modern marketing tactics and youth uptake.

The Retail Trade Association of Kenya represents thousands of small and micro retailers nationwide and has positioned itself as a key stakeholder in tobacco regulatory discussions. Mbarire’s intervention marks one of the most direct and detailed critiques of the bill from the retail sector to date.

The National Assembly’s Health Committee is expected to begin clause-by-clause consideration of the bill in the coming weeks, with public participation hearings scheduled for late February 2026.