The Government has reiterated that the 2017 ban on Shisha is still in full effect.

In a statement from Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni, the government reminds all Kenyans that the manufacture, importation, sale, and use of Shisha is prohibited in Kenya.

“The Ministry of Health wishes to remind all Kenyans that the ban on Shisha remains in full effect. This prohibition, enacted in 2017 under the Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, outlaws the manufacture, importation, sale, and use of Shisha in Kenya,” the statement reads in part.

Shisha smoking poses serious health risks, including respiratory diseases, heart conditions, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

It is these dangers that led to a legal challenge in 2018, but both the High Court (2018) and the Court of Appeal (23rd December 2024) upheld the ban, affirming that public health must take priority over commercial interests.

The Ministry of Health says it remains committed to enforcing this ban, urging all Kenyans to comply. “We also call on law enforcement agencies to strengthen surveillance and take action against those violating this law,” PS Muthoni says.

She adds: “We appeal to the public to prioritize their health and that of their loved ones. Prevention is better than cure-let us work together to keep Kenya safe and healthy.”

The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) had expressed concerns that Shisha smoking had slowly but steadily managed to crawl back into the country despite its ban by the government in December 2017.

“So widespread is the vice nowadays that it is almost common practice in major entertainment joints across the country. And it has found its way deep into the rural towns where young people are puffing their way to the grave,” said Simon Mwangi, NACADA’s corporate communications officer, who was worried that “even after the ban, shisha is still widely sold in the country, especially at nightclubs, and is popular among socialites and sportspersons.”

Although shisha smokers try to downplay the negative effects of their use by claiming that the toxins contained in the shisha tobacco are eliminated after passing through water, NACADA maintains that Scientifically, even though it has passed through water, the levels of toxins in shisha smoke can be as high or higher than in cigarette smoke.

“In a shisha session lasting 60 minutes, a smoker can inhale as much smoke as a cigarette smoker would inhale from 100 – 200 cigarettes. It is also true that secondhand smoke from shisha is an extremely harmful mixture of tobacco smoke and smoke from the fuel (charcoal),” NACADA paints a grim picture of shisha smoking.