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Excessive Drinking can only be Reduced with a Change on the Approach to Regulation

BY Soko Directory Team · May 2, 2019 07:05 am

Kenya needs to develop a more comprehensive policy if its fight against illicit alcohol is to succeed, according to a new analysis of the regulation of alcohol in the country by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

The policy recommendation is contained in a White Paper by the Institute of Economic Affairs and launched by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers during the summit on illicit trade.

Kwame Owino, the Institute’s Chief Executive said that their analysis had shown that the approach taken to regulate alcohol is population-based rather than targeted at reducing excessive drinking.

“Regulation of the alcohol beverage sector is through the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, which by reducing the amount of time for drinking and limiting the advertising of alcohol, assumes that it solves the problem of heavy drinking. But that does not work and more people are pushed towards illicit alcohol. By suppressing one side, you go back to the other side. Our licensing model actually creates barriers to market entry,” said Mr. Owino.

He said that a regulation model that involves direct interventions targeting individual drinkers and others aimed at specific alcohol-related problems such as drunk-driving are less likely to affect the non-problem drinker.

“Kenya’s alcohol policies should not be exclusive but should encompass a mixed approach involving Problem Directed Policies and Intervention Policies. They have been proven to work elsewhere,” said Mr. Owino.

The White Paper was launched at a day-long summit on illicit trade in Kenya, with a focus on the alcoholic beverages sector. A resolution paper will be developed from the submissions made at the summit and submitted to the Treasury.

IEA argued that Population-Based Policies are easier to administer but are unlikely to be most successful in Kenya given the low per capita consumption of alcohol, demographic changes, dual market structure and expected income growth among Kenya’s working population.

Data from the World Health Organisation shows the per person consumption of alcohol in Kenya stood at 3.4 litres of pure alcohol in 2018, much less than the global average of 6.4 litres per person.

Of the 3.4 litres, says the WHO, 1.9 litres is recorded (legally recognized) while 1.5 liters is unrecorded (not officially recognized). 

The alcoholic beverages industry is a leading contributor to the Exchequer East African Breweries Limited, the leading player in the industry, estimated that it made tax contributions of up to Ksh. 42 billion in the fiscal year 2018.

The significance of the industry is amplified because the direct tax contribution represented 2.74 percent of all government revenues for the financial year 2017/18.

With the excessive regulation that the recorded alcohol is subjected to, says IEA in the White Paper, more consumers are pushed towards the alcohol that is not officially recognized, and which bears risks for drinkers.

“In sum, excessive regulation can generate the unintended consequences of driving demand for alcoholic beverages in the informal sector and generate worse health outcomes owing to the production methods employed in the latter,” IEA says.

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