This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
On August 5, 2019, a Nairobi resident, Ibrahim Mohamud Ibrahim, filed a lawsuit at the High Court in Kenya, seeking to ban the production, sale, and consumption of cigarettes in the country.
The lawsuit, which names the Ministry of Health, its Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki, and the Attorney-General as defendants, claims that the government has failed to protect the health of Kenyans by allowing the production and sale of tobacco products.
Mr. Ibrahim argues that the government's decision to allow the production and sale of tobacco products is in blatant disregard of the effects of smoking, which include increased health risks such as cancer, stroke, heart diseases, tuberculosis, and cardiovascular disease.
He points out that in the US, cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths every year, and that similar statistics are available in Kenya, where smokers lose 15 years of life on average and tobacco kills about 1,200 people every day.
Mr. Ibrahim also argues that the government's decision to ban the importation, manufacture, advertising, and promotion of shisha in December 2017 was not sufficient, as it did not prohibit all tobacco products.
He wants the court to declare that the use of tobacco products in consumable items and cigarettes is contrary to the constitution and to compel the government to ban the entire production, supply, management, dissemination, and consumption of tobacco products and cigarettes.
