Tracking and tracing tobacco products in Kenya

This report evaluates the effectiveness of various measures to control the size of illicit cigarette trade in Kenya. It is based on a literature review, a review of conference proceedings/materials, online searches, and analyses of data from the National Statistical Office of Kenya, ERC, and Euromonitor. I used both published and grey literature, official government reports, and online news articles. In response to the presence of illicit cigarettes in the market in the early 2000s, Kenya adopted numerous measures to reduce tobacco tax evasion, with varying degrees of success. The latest solution involving a tracking and tracing system accompanied by electronic cargo monitoring of export seems to be the most effective, as it reduced the size of the illicit cigarette market and increased tax revenue. In addition, it seems to be more resistant to tampering. The experience of Kenya highlights the importance of consistency and comprehensiveness of the system addressing tax evasion, because piecemeal measures have only short-term effects.