Two years on, Mastermind is still advertising its products

By Macharia Kamau

Cigarette manufacturers are still carrying out sales promotional activities two years after the Tobacco Control Act was enacted, banning tobacco companies from such activities was enacted.

The legislation, which came to effect in October 2008, banned advertising and marketing of cigarettes and other tobacco products, to discourage smoking and reduce instances of smoking-related diseases.

Under the law, the companies cannot advertise their products, or brand name, on any medium, including billboards, traditional media outlets, or even through branding materials such as pens and t-shirts. The firms can only place their names on premises they own or are leasing.

Branded Materials

But Mastermind Tobacco Kenya’s (MTK)has branded materials, as well as outdoor advertisements, including calendars and cigarette lighters in public, in apparent contravention of the law.

The company has also been undertaking promotional activities in remote areas, which are difficult for public health officials to monitor, while the local people might not know that the law protects them from such messages.

In one prominent bar in Nairobi, the company’s flagship brand — Supermatch – appears on its signage, amounting to advertising.

Josh Kirimania, the corporate and regulatory affairs manager of MTK, said the company was not aware of the signage, adding that it was the onus of the bar owners to pull it down.

He, however, conceded that the company was advertising and branding the company itself, not the products, saying the law allowed visibility of the corporate identity.

"It is the brands or products that have been banned from being advertised, not the company. You will see materials advertising Mastermind but not Supermatch," he said.

But this contravenes the law, whose scope of the ban includes use of manufacturers’ name in adverts or promotion materials.

"No person shall promote a tobacco product by means of an advertisement that depicts, in whole or in part, a tobacco product, is package or a brand element," reads the act in part.

It further lists the manufacturer’s name and logo as a tobacco brand element.

British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya, Mastermind’s only rival manufacturer in the Kenyan market, said it had complied with the law, and went on to say non-compliance by MTK has created an uneven playing ground in the market.

The company said it spent Sh100 million in pulling down advertisements, as well as recalling materials bearing its brands from retail outlets and bars across the country.

Though the company said its invisibility in the market has not cost it its market share, BAT is worries the continued visibility of its competition might hurt its business in the long run.

Negative light

Eric Kiniti, BAT’s regulatory affairs manager for East Africa, said continued non-compliance by one player painted the entire industry in negative light.

"While giving the competition advantage because they continue to be visible in the market, their non-compliance also taints our image, since they are not looked at in isolation but as the tobacco industry," said Kiniti.

He added that other than the voluntary compliance by the industry, the Government had done little to ensure that all players complied with the law.

The ministry of Health said it has worked hard to implement the law by training health officials and other stakeholders on the implementation of the law and there have been gains made.

"So far over 90 per cent of the advertisements by tobacco companies have been pulled down, which shows there has been progress. Not too long ago, messages from tobacco companies were everywhere," said Kepher Ombacho, the chief of public health.

Legal Action

He added that the ministry had taken legal action against a number of bar owners for failing to comply with the law, which requires them to remove items like cigarette dispensers, ash trays and lawn umbrellas bearing branded by cigarette manufacturers.

And though he conceded that the manufacturers have been undertaking sales and promotions activities in areas that are difficult to police, Ombacho said the Ministry would move to stop the activities soon.

"We will be moving to the grass roots to stem out the sales and promotions activities," he said.