According to the World Health Organisation, Kenyans are only partially protected from tobacco because the country has not implemented the full package of control policies.
Based to the organization, Kenyans and most people worldwide are protected by at least one best practice policy that helps save lives from deadly tobacco. Nonetheless, this represents significant progress since the Kenya Tobacco Control Act was passed in 2007.
In accordance to the WHO, 5.6 billion people worldwide – five times more than in 2007 – or 71 percent of the world’s population are now protected.
Pursuant to the WHO, smoking rates have decreased in the 15 years since WHO’s MPOWER tobacco control measures were implemented globally. Without this decline, the world would have an estimated 300 million more smokers today.
According to the Ministry of Health, tobacco still kills approximately 6,000 Kenyans each year.
This WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, focuses on protecting the public from second-hand smoke, highlighting that nearly 40% of countries now have smoke-free indoor public places.
The report rates the country’s progress in tobacco control and shows that two more countries, Mauritius and the Netherlands, have achieved a best-practice level in all MPOWER measures, a feat that only Brazil and Türkiye had accomplished until now.
“These data show that slowly but surely, more and more people are being protected from the harms of tobacco by WHO’s evidence-based best-practice policies,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said.
“I congratulate Mauritius on becoming the first country in Africa and the Netherlands on becoming the first in the European Union to implement the full package of WHO tobacco control policies at the highest level. WHO stands ready to support all countries to follow their example and protect their people from this deadly scourge.”
“With a strong political commitment, we have made great progress in tobacco control policies in Mauritius. Our country has adopted the MPOWER strategy and is moving resolutely towards a smoke-free country,” Republic of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said.
