Tobacco-related illnesses claim about 12,000 Kenyan lives each year, according to a 2024 survey, with smoking rates among men being stubbornly high at nearly 20 percent. Despite ongoing public health efforts, progress remains slow, and time is not on our side.

It’s therefore not surprising that I’m deeply concerned about the recent discourse surrounding alternative nicotine products in Kenya. Unfortunately, misinformation and ideological (mis)pronouncements are overshadowing the potential to improve the health of our nation significantly.

Recent statements from politicians, including the PS for Public Health, dismissing alternative nicotine products ignore a growing body of scientific evidence endorsed by global regulators. I must reiterate that these products have gained the support of reputable regulatory and health bodies like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) precisely because they pose significantly lower health risks than traditional cigarettes.

I understand that the allure of a controversial headline is tempting, but let’s focus on the facts.

Globally, the FDA, the UK Health Security Agency and policymakers in Sweden, New Zealand and Japan have endorsed alternative nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches as significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes. These regulators, after extensive scientific review, agree that when substituting smoking these products reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses associated with smoking.

The FDA’s assessment earlier this month to authorise nicotine pouches as “appropriate for the protection of public health” is a landmark decision by one of the largest and most stringent regulatory agencies in the world. The weight that this gives to tobacco harm reduction as a viable concept is enormous and should be celebrated and replicated.

Similarly, Sweden, with its pioneering harm reduction strategy, boasts the lowest smoking rates in Europe and a corresponding reduction in smoking-related deaths. Meanwhile, New Zealand has halved its smoking rate in just five years through the widespread adoption of alternative nicotine products. British authorities have also long supported e-cigarettes as a cessation method, finding them to reduce risk compared to cigarettes and effective for those trying to stop smoking.

Kenya, too, stands on the brink of a landmark decision. Research conducted by tobacco harm reduction experts shows that almost half of the smokers’ lives lost annually in Kenya could be saved by 2060 if policymakers incorporate harm reduction strategies into our public health policy. These findings are based on in-depth studies from leading international experts, who conclude that the switch from cigarettes to vapes and nicotine pouches dramatically cuts smoking-related deaths.

So, why are we hesitating? The unfortunate reality is that misinformation, like that pushed by the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards sows confusion. The approach isn’t founded on scientific consensus. This path does nothing to help the one in five Kenyan men who currently smoke or the 12,000 Kenyans who succumb each year to smoking-related illnesses.

When we talk about saving Kenyan lives, remember that those are our friends, neighbours, and family members, people whose futures depend on the policy choices we make today. Let’s not condemn them to needless suffering by ignoring the science that stands right before us.

We’ve seen how these proven tools work elsewhere. Do we need to reinvent the wheel?

— The writer is a Physician Gastroenterologist, public health Advocate and an executive member of the Harm Reduction Society Kenya