OPINION: Kenyan lawmakers should pay close attention to landmark US nicotine decision

As Parliament debates new restrictions on tobacco and nicotine products, one of the world’s most respected health regulators has reached a conclusion our lawmakers cannot afford to ignore.

After an extensive scientific review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorised 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products to be marketed with the statement: “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.”

The decision follows years of scientific assessment covering toxicology, clinical evidence, consumer behaviour, youth risks and the likely impact on public health. The FDA concluded that allowing this claim would benefit public health by helping adult smokers make informed choices.

This is a landmark verdict. It is the first time the FDA has authorised a nicotine pouch to carry a reduced-risk claim. The agency applies some of the world’s toughest scientific standards before allowing manufacturers to make health claims about nicotine products.

It concluded that adult smokers who switch completely from cigarettes to these authorised smoke-free products reduce their risk of developing serious smoking-related diseases. That finding deserves careful attention in Kenya.

The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill treats products with very different risk profiles almost identically. It introduces restrictions that will make it harder for adult smokers to obtain products that do not involve burning tobacco.

That matters because burning tobacco causes almost all smoking-related disease. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals that cause cancer, heart disease and lung disease. Smoke-free nicotine products remove the burning process and thereby removes the majority of the risk.

The FDA’s decision reflects this scientific evidence. It recognises that adult smokers should have accurate information about the relative risks of the products available to them.

Kenyan lawmakers should ask themselves one question: if the FDA, after one of the most thorough scientific reviews conducted anywhere in the world, has concluded that smokers should be told the truth about lower-risk alternatives, why should Kenyan law make that harder?

Around 9,000 Kenyans still die from smoking-related diseases every year. Many smokers struggle to quit nicotine altogether. Giving them access to products that eliminate cigarette smoke can reduce their risk of disease and offers another route away from smoking.

Countries that have embraced this approach are seeing results.

By giving adults access to safer alternatives like snus, pouches and vapes, Sweden is reducing smoking to below the internationally recognised smoke-free threshold while recording the lowest rates of tobacco-related disease in Europe. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have also seen their smoking rates plummet after integrating vaping into smoking cessation services.

The United States has now taken another important step by recognising that nicotine pouches can reduce the health risks faced by smokers who switch.

Kenya's lawmakers now have an important decision to make. They can pass legislation that limits access to smoke-free alternatives, or they can regulate those products responsibly while ensuring that adult smokers have access to accurate information and better options than cigarettes.

The FDA has weighed the evidence and reached its conclusion. Parliament should do the same before it casts its vote.

The writer, Joseph Magero, is the Chairman, Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA)