British American T*****o (BAT) Kenya is in talks with the government seeking a reversal of the ban on its LYFT n******e pouches.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe had in October 2020 declared the registration of n******e pouches including BAT’s Lyft brand i*****l. The move followed intense lobbying by groups including the Kenya T*****o Control Alliance (Ketca), who wanted the products heavily regulated and taxed.
Kagwe wrote to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board seeking answers on the licensing of n******e pouches, arguing it was not in line with t*****o control regulations and effectively stopped their sale.
In an earnings update on Wednesday, February 17, BAT Kenya’s parent company BAT Plc noted that it was engaging authorities in a bid to resume sales.
It referenced the introduction of pouches in emerging markets as part of its larger global diversification strategy, with c*******e sales in decline around the world.
BAT had announced plans to establish a Ksh2.5 billion plant in Kenya to manufacture non-combustible n******e pouches.
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“Pilot schemes in emerging markets are ongoing with some encouraging results in Pakistan and Indonesia. In Kenya, we have temporarily suspended sales due to local regulatory challenges and continue to engage with the local authorities,” the firm noted.
T*****o farmers are among those who raised concerns over the pouches, as the t*****o used in them came from Switzerland.
The popular Lyft pouches were marketed as an alternative to s*****g cigarettes, or an option for those trying to quit.
A pouch is placed under the lower lip and the n******e absorbed by the body.
T*****o control lobbyists, however, insist that they were being a****d by minors and noted the understated a*******e properties of n******e in the slick marketing.
“A product that is highly a*******e, which poses health risks, should not be sold freely. We want the n******e product heavily taxed and regulated, just as we handle other t*****o products,” Ketca chairman Joel Gitali previously stated.
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