New Tobacco Control Bill moves to Second Reading in the Zambian Parliament
Zambia's Health Minister Dr. Alex Katakwe (left).
By Hellen Bwalya and Derrick Sinjela
Health Minister Dr. Alex Katakwe presented a formal policy statement to Parliament on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, marking the second reading of the Tobacco Control Bill No. 40 of 2025.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a comprehensive legal framework to regulate tobacco use and exposure, specifically targeting the protection of children and adolescents.
Currently serving as United Party for National Development (UPND) Solwezi East Member of Parliament (MP) in the North-Western Province, Dr. Katakwe emphasized that the bill reflects the government’s commitment to public health by addressing the limitations of existing regulations, which currently fail to meet the global standards set by the United Nations World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (UN-WHO-FCTC).
The urgency of the TCB No. 40 of 2025 is underscored by high mortality rates linked to tobacco, which Dr. Katakwe reported as responsible for over 7,142 annual deaths in Zambia, including approximately 800 fatalities resulting from secondhand smoke.
National data indicates a growing crisis among the youth, with the 2021 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) revealing that forty per cent (40%) of young people aged thirteen (13) to fifteen (15) have experimented with tobacco, some starting as early as age seven.
Dr. Katakwe noted that current laws, such as the 1992 Public Health Tobacco Regulation (PHTR) and the 2008 Local Government Smoking Prohibitions (LGSP), are no longer sufficient to combat the health risks associated with modern tobacco products.
Dr. Katakwe detailed the severe medical implications of tobacco use, describing it as a leading cause of preventable Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) including cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Dr. Katakwe highlighted that tobacco products contain over 7,000 toxic chemicals, 69 of which are known carcinogens, and stressed that there is no safe level of exposure.
The new legislation is designed to regulate all forms of tobacco, including conventional cigarettes and emerging products like e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, shisha, and snuff, to mitigate a global epidemic that claims more than eight (8) million lives annually.
The Tobacco Control Bill No. 40 of 2025 in Zambia aims to domesticate the UN-WHO-FCTC to protect public health.
Once passed into law, the TCB No. 40 of 2025 will regulate tobacco manufacturing, marketing, and packaging, including enforcement of visible graphic health warnings, without banning tobacco farming. Zambia ratified the UN-WHO-FCTC on Friday 23rd May, 2008 and stakeholders have waited close to two decades to witness it’s domestication.- Tobacco Free Association of Zambia (TOFAZA) Rainbow Newspaper Zambia Limited (RNZL)/ Kwilanzi Newspaper Zambia (KNZ)/ Zambian Children Young People and Women in Development (ZCYPWD)/ The Place in Your Heart Foundation (PIYHF) Zambian Developmental Media Alliance (ZADEMA).
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