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This is a challenge to any Kenyan M.P or Minister to issue a statement that consumption of cigarettes is good for ones health, shows that one is successful and chic, and sophisticated. Honorable Prof. George Saitoti Minister of Education should lead this mass 'declaration of health.'

I choose Saitoti simply because schools in Kenya and hence the students fall under his docket yet British American Tobacco (BAT) continues with its greedy, heedless campaign to hook new customers to its ranks which by necessity mainly stem from the young and gullible Kenyan youth.

Saitoti who as minister, is the mother-of-all-teachers in this country and other officials in his ministry continue to sell our children's health for a pittance to this callous and parasitic company which literally sucks the health out of Kenyans. BAT manages this dastardly feat, by deft sleight of hand.

In this instance the diversion is the Kenya Schools and Colleges Music Festivals Stop under age smoking section. 'Underage smoking!!' Is there any correct age for smoking? Well according to the BAT top brass "if you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to smoke."

This slogan which they constantly role out with great relish and glee can only wash on the assumption that certain key parameters are in place, namely: that before any Kenyan starts using this drug they have been amply informed of the ingredients of which it is composed of and possible side effects of use. Even manufacturers of another widely consumed legal drug alcohol have to list ingredients on the label.

They do not do this (probably because there is not enough space on a cigarette packet to list the 4,000 known poisons that it contains) nor do they advise on possible side effects. Instead there is a tepid warning from the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Assuming that old enough to vote means mature enough to make an informed decision, how do you make this decision when you have not been informed of the poisons, cancers, respiratory illnesses, amputation, impotence, wrinkling skin and a general susceptibility to other ailments i.e all the variables needed to make this informed decision? All they do tell you is that you look cool and that it is an initiation into adulthood. 'Adulthood' is the magic wand waved in front of susceptible Kenyan kids, and they fall for it - pack, light and cigar!

When BAT says they are campaigning against underage smoking they are merely playing out a tragedy of such great proportions, that even that immortal author of epic tragedies Shakespeare would been keen to congratulate its author.

Simply put BATs' survival cannot be sustained on the already smoking adult population if they do not get new customers, as this segment is daily dying of smoking related illnesses or quitting.

BAT long ago learned to keep its head low, merge like a chameleon with the surroundings so as to attract as little attention as possible to their drug while appearing to be a responsible cooperate citizens so as to win public support from Kenyans.

I do not need a degree in psychology to tell you that by apparently forbidding the fruit, they only make it more tempting. The fact of the matter is that tobacco companies are aggressively targeting our children.

All the while we do their dirty work for them as we ecstatically gush "what wonderful business practices they have as they deny themselves revenue by sponsoring this category." We clap and heap accolades on them at prestigious events like Company Of Year (COYA) and others while they guffaw helplessly at what pliable idiots we must be.

Litigation in the United States of America led to the release of millions of pages of internal documents of these companies which were placed on the internet. Browsing through these papers reveals thousands of startling facts hitherto kept under wraps concerning youth smoking which can be best illustrated by the following two examples.

"A new brand aimed at the young smoker must somehow become the 'in' brand and its promotion should emphasise togetherness, belonging and group acceptance, while at the same time emphasising individuality and 'doing one's own thing"

Then it proceeds on the premise; "The teens and early twenties are periods of intense psychological stress, restlessness and boredom. Many socially awkward situations are encountered. The minute or two required to stop and light a cigarette, ask for a light, find an ash-tray and the like provide something to do during periods of awkwardness and boredom."

Even as far back as the '60s T. Osdene of Phillip Morris wrote about reasons for smoking in "Why One Smokes, First Draft, 1969." It was almost like a blueprint for me to use five years later when I begun smoking in form one. Osdene wrote:

"The first cigarette is a noxious experience to the noviate. To account for the fact that the beginning smoker will tolerate unpleasantness we must invoke a psychology motive. Smoking a cigarette for a beginner is a symbolic act. I am no longer my mother's child, I am tough, I am an adventurer, I'm not square. Whatever the individual intent, the act of smoking remains a symbolic declaration of personal identity."

Then comes the rider. "As the force from the psychological symbolism subsides, the pharmacological effect takes over to sustain the habit." In other words by the time you are thinking about stopping this experimentation and forgetting about cigarettes altogether you realise you cannot as the extremely addictive nicotine has got you 'hooked'.

By apparently campaigning against underage smoking these companies cleverly succeed in marketing to children by simply positioning their products as "adult".

I cannot put it more succinctly than the Ted Bates advertising agency in New York who said in part:

"In the young smokers mind, a cigarette falls into the same category with wine, beer, shaving, wearing a bra (or purposely not wearing one), declaration of independence, and striving for self-identity."

They further stated that attempts "to reach young smokers, starters, should be based among others, on the following major parameters: