Overview
What is Tobacco and Cigarettes?
Tobacco is a plant containing nicotine, one of the most addictive substances known. It is smoked in cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, cigars, and pipes. In Kenya and East Africa, both commercially manufactured cigarettes and loose rolled tobacco are widely used.
Kenya enacted the Tobacco Control Act in 2007, which introduced plain packaging requirements, advertising bans, and smoke-free regulations in public spaces. Despite this, tobacco remains widely available and affordable.
Emerging tobacco products including vaping devices (e-cigarettes), heated tobacco products, and kuber (smokeless tobacco) are now spreading rapidly, particularly among young people.
What it does to the brain and body
How does it work?
Why people use it
What draws people to it?
Most tobacco users started as young people, when social pressure, curiosity, and the desire to appear mature drove initiation. By the time health consequences are apparent, dependence is established.
Nicotine provides a rapid, brief sense of relief from stress and anxiety, which many smokers describe as calming. This stress-relief function reinforces continued use.
Smoking is deeply embedded in social rituals for many men in Kenya. Sharing cigarettes, taking smoking breaks, and smoking after meals or with alcohol are habitual patterns.
Short-term effects
What happens when someone uses it?
These effects can occur even with first-time or occasional use.
- Brief increase in alertness and concentration
- Temporary relief from nicotine craving
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure
- Reduced appetite
- Dizziness or nausea in new users
Long-term effects
What happens with regular or prolonged use?
- Lung cancer (the leading cause of cancer death among smokers)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) including emphysema and chronic bronchitis
- Heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease
- Cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder, and kidney
- Accelerated skin ageing and tooth decay
- Complications of pregnancy including low birth weight and premature birth
- Reduced immune function
Recognising a problem
Signs that use may have become a problem
These signs apply to the person using the substance and can also help family members or friends recognise when help is needed.
- Smoking on waking, before eating, or in situations where smoking is difficult
- Failed attempts to quit or cut down
- Continuing to smoke despite a doctor's advice or health complications
- Feeling anxious, irritable, or unable to concentrate when unable to smoke
- Planning activities around the ability to smoke
Addiction and dependence
How addictive is it?
Nicotine is among the most addictive substances known, comparable to heroin and cocaine in terms of dependence potential. Approximately two-thirds of people who try smoking become dependent.
Despite the very high addiction risk, tobacco is the most treatable addiction: medicines including nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, and bupropion significantly increase quit rates when used with behavioural support.
Overdose and acute danger
When does it become immediately dangerous?
- Acute nicotine poisoning is rare in adults but can occur from very high exposure. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and in severe cases, seizures
- Nicotine patches or gum misuse can cause toxicity
- Vaping liquids containing concentrated nicotine are particularly dangerous for children if ingested
Withdrawal
What happens when someone tries to stop?
Who is most affected
Groups particularly at risk in Kenya
Men are significantly more likely to smoke than women in Kenya. Young men aged 15 to 35 have the highest initiation rates.
Tobacco use is particularly high among manual workers, transport workers, and people in lower-income groups where cheap loose tobacco is available.
Kuber, a smokeless tobacco product from India, has grown rapidly among university students. A 2025 NACADA survey found 23% of university students used kuber, making it the most common tobacco product in that group.
In Kenya
What the data says about Kenya
Tobacco is the second most used substance in Kenya, used by approximately one in ten people aged 15 to 65. Tobacco-related diseases are a leading cause of preventable death nationally.
Kenya's Tobacco Control Act (2007) is among the stronger tobacco control frameworks in Africa and includes plain packaging, advertising restrictions, and smoke-free public spaces. However, enforcement remains inconsistent.
Kuber (smokeless tobacco) has emerged as a major concern. NACADA raised the alarm about kuber in 2019 and the product was subject to a ban attempt. Despite this, it remains widely available and has reached 23% prevalence among university students by 2025.
Vaping and e-cigarettes are poorly regulated in Kenya and are increasingly used by young people who may not have previously smoked.
Across East and Central Africa
How is it used in the wider region?
| Country | Local name(s) | Context and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Uganda | Sigara, Bidi, Kuber | Uganda has a Tobacco Control Act (2015). Kuber was explicitly banned by the Ugandan government following WHO classification as an emerging threat to youth. |
| Tanzania | Sigara, Bidi | Tanzania is a significant tobacco producer. Domestic consumption is high and tobacco control regulations, while present, are not consistently enforced. |
| Ethiopia | Sigara, Dudaa | Significant tobacco cultivation and use. Urban tobacco use is rising rapidly. E-cigarettes are emerging in Addis Ababa. |
| South Africa | Sigaret, Puff | South Africa has strong progressive tobacco control regulations. Plain packaging is mandated. Illicit cigarette trade (untaxed imports) remains a significant challenge. |
Getting help
Where to turn in Kenya
NACADA Helpline
Free, confidential counselling and referral to treatment centres near you. Available 24 hours a day.
Mathari National Hospital
Kenya's main national psychiatric and substance use treatment facility in Nairobi. Inpatient and outpatient services.
County referral hospitals
Every county in Kenya has a mental health and substance use service. Ask at your nearest hospital or health centre.
Kenya Tobacco-Free Initiative
Ministry of Health programme supporting quit attempts. Available through public health facilities.
Sources
References
- National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA). (2022). National Survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use in Kenya 2022. Nairobi: NACADA.
- World Health Organization. (2023). WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2023. Geneva: WHO.
- NACADA. (2019). Trends and Patterns of Emerging Drugs in Kenya. Nairobi: NACADA.
- Nation Africa. (2023, January 25). High for three days: Kenya's prescription drug abuse craze.