The Kenyan government reportedly weakened health warnings on nicotine pouches following pressure from British American Tobacco (BAT), which threatened to pull investment from a new factory in Nairobi, an investigation by The Guardian has revealed.
Letters between BAT and the Ministry of Health show the government’s concession to sell Velo, a leading global nicotine pouch brand, with smaller health warnings and without mentioning potentially cancer-causing toxicants.
Existing tobacco regulations in Kenya mandate health warning labels covering one-third of tobacco product packaging, including information on health hazards. But BAT lobbied to reduce Velo’s warning size, and the Health Ministry agreed the pouches could be sold with a small warning saying only: “This product contains nicotine and is addictive.”
The move contradicted regulations requiring larger warnings on tobacco products. In the UK, nicotine pouch warnings also note the products are “not risk-free” due to traces of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), cancer-causing compounds also found in cigarettes.
Velo pouches have gained popularity among Kenyan youth, with TikTok videos garnering millions of views and sales occurring in schools. A leaked government report accuses tobacco companies of targeting young people and calls for stricter regulations on nicotine pouches.
BAT views Kenya as a key “test market” for rolling out pouches in Africa. The company secured a license to sell Velo through the Ministry’s Pharmacy and Poisons Board. But BAT sold pouches more widely online and in shops, advertising through social media influencers and university giveaways, until sales were suspended in 2020 for violating license terms.
BAT then heavily lobbied the government, threatening in a September 2021 letter to halt plans for a new $15 million nicotine pouch factory in Nairobi that would serve Africa. The company said resuming factory plans and pouch sales depended on Kenya providing appropriate text warnings.
Within a month, the Health Ministry permitted BAT to halve warning sizes to just: “This product contains nicotine and is addictive.” Velo pouches re-entered the market in June 2022, with BAT given exemptions on standard warnings until 2023. But public health experts argue the addictive products have flooded the youth market, risking a new generation addicted to nicotine.
Read the full investigation report here: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/jan/23/how-big-tobacco-forced-kenya-to-temper-nicotine-pouch-warning-labels
