22 Sep 2026

The growing popularity of vaping among young people is raising concern in Botswana, with electronic cigarettes increasingly becoming an entry point into tobacco use.

Programmes Manager at Anti-Tobacco Network, Mr Kabo Katlholo, said this when addressing Kanye councillors on the dangers of tobacco use on Friday.

He cited a 2024 Global School-Based Student Health Survey, which revealed that 11.1 per cent of children in Botswana used vaping devices at school without the knowledge of parents or teachers.

He said vaping devices were sometimes mistaken for toys, making them particularly concerning among children.

Also, he revealed that 22.2 per cent of people in Botswana used tobacco, while the 2017 STEPS Survey indicated that 37.2 per cent of smokers were male.

Mr Katlholo said the most alarming concern was tobacco use among children aged 13 to 17, with 11 per cent reporting that they had started smoking through vaping pens.

“Children start smoking as early as 12 years, often at primary school level,” he said.

He explained that children typically begin with vaping before progressing to conventional cigarettes.

He also raised concern over the use of hubbly bubbly, hookah or shisha, saying the practice exposed users to tobacco smoke and has been associated with respiratory health problems.

He said hubbly bubbly was increasingly being replaced by vape pens, which were becoming a popular alternative to conventional cigarettes. Mr Katlholo also raised concern about the use of Chelsea commonly called Lengwanda, which he said was made from waste tobacco leaves from manufacturing and illegally mixed with other substances. 

He expressed concern over the illegal sale of cigarettes, particularly through hawking businesses, and called for the effective implementation of the Tobacco Control Act.

He said the Act would help safeguard public health spaces, provide for fines, regulate tobacco sales and prohibit the sale or display of tobacco products in certain places and forms.

The Act would also require health warnings on tobacco packaging to alert consumers to the dangers associated with tobacco use.

Botswana signed the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 and ratified it in 2005, with the treaty providing a framework for tobacco-control measures.

Mr Katlholo said the Tobacco Control Act was passed by Parliament in October 2021 but had yet to be fully implemented, pending the necessary health regulations.

Therefore, he urged councillors to support advocacy for the effective implementation and enforcement of tobacco-control measures, particularly those aimed at protecting children.

Responding to the presentation, councillors expressed concern over tobacco and vaping among children, as well as the increasing number of females engaging in smoking.

Kgosing Ward Councillor Mr Mosekisi Rangobana said tobacco use should be curbed because its sale should not come at the expense of children’s lives.

He said Botswana’s tobacco-control efforts should remain focused on protecting lives, regardless of the economic interests of neighbouring countries that depend on tobacco production and trade. ENDS