Kenya among countries off track on tobacco tax benchmarks
As of 2024, Kenya’s tobacco tax share stands between 70 and 74 percent of the retail price, leaving it just below the WHO’s best-practice threshold.
Kenya has been named among countries that are falling short of key global tobacco tax targets, a missed opportunity that health experts say could have helped reduce smoking, save lives, and boost funding for healthcare.
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed Kenya among 20 countries that have either never reached or have slid below the recommended level where tobacco taxes make up at least 75 percent of the retail price of cigarettes.
This benchmark is widely considered one of the most effective strategies in tobacco control.
As of 2024, Kenya’s tobacco tax share stands between 70 and 74 percent of the retail price, leaving it just below the WHO’s best-practice threshold.
According to the report, reaching the 75 percent mark is seen as a critical signal that a country is serious about protecting public health by discouraging smoking, lowering the risk of tobacco-related illnesses, and cutting the long-term costs of treatment.
“Of the 20 countries that have not maintained their previous achievement of a best-practice tax share, six are mentioned above as having a tax share between 70 percent and 74 percent in 2024... Kenya [is] among them...,” read the WHO report.
Other countries listed in the same category as Kenya include Australia, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Morocco, Sri Lanka, and South Sudan.
Meanwhile, some countries have ramped up their efforts and surpassed the 75 percent benchmark. Notably, Belarus raised its tobacco tax share from 56.6 percent in 2022 to 76.9 percent in 2024. It joins Indonesia and Palau, which have also reached best-practice status.
Globally, the report says 1.2 billion people now live in countries that have adopted best-practice tobacco tax rates. This includes 128 million people living in 24 of the world’s largest cities—none of which are in Kenya.
By failing to meet the benchmark, Kenya continues to miss out on what the WHO describes as a powerful policy tool for reducing tobacco consumption and generating additional public revenue that could support health systems.
