Traders in Nakuru are demanding wider public participation in the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, arguing that stakeholders who will be directly affected have been excluded from the legislative process.

• The Bars, Hotel and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya (BAHLITA) criticizes the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health for limiting consultations to select stakeholders in Nairobi.
• BAHLITA Secretary General Boniface Gachoka emphasized that public participation is a constitutional requirement, not a courtesy.
• Concerns were raised that a ban on flavoured nicotine and tobacco products could fuel illicit trade and reduce government tax revenues.