New smoking laws for South Africa are coming – now open for public comment
The Portfolio Committee on Health has opened the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill for public comment.
Submissions can be made between 21 June 2023 and 4 August 2023. Comments can be emailed to [email protected] or online at https://forms.gle/FLrhnvThDk8ccLG97.
The bill outlines new regulations and prohibitions relating not only to tobacco smoking but also to electronic cigarettes or vaping.
Broadly, the bill seeks to:
- regulate smoking;
- regulate the sale and advertising of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems;
- regulate the packaging and appearance of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems and to make provision for the standardisation of their packaging;
- provide for standards in respect of the manufacturing and export of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems;
- prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems to children;
- prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems;
- prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems by means of vending machines, and to provide for matters connected therewith.
The bill was originally tabled before parliament in mid-December 2022 and has undergone extensive reviews and consultations.
Under the bill, prohibitions and regulations would be empowered by the minister of health, who has the authority to designate certain public areas and outdoor areas as no-smoking, among other things.
For example, the minister also has authority over the advertising and displaying of tobacco products.
Under the bill, no one can display tobacco and vape products in retail settings, including speciality tobacco stores.
Notably, regarding the packaging and labelling of tobacco devices or electronic nicotine delivery systems, the minister can also make regulations for the packaging and labelling of vapes – opening the doors for similar health warnings and required information seen on cigarettes making their way to e-cigarettes.
There has been some backlash against the government lumping traditional tobacco products with the ever-present e-cigarettes. The science of vapes is still being monitored; however, it is often compared to a harm-reduction method for traditional cigarette smokers.
On 31 May, following a portfolio committee briefing on the bill, a handful of members engaged in the smoking industry raised concern over the bill’s effect on their companies. Moreover, some members also voiced concern over the effect this would have on the country’s fiscus as it heavily relies on the tobacco industry.
Towards the end of the briefing in May, the chairperson of the committee said: “The bill is important for the health of all South Africans. The committee agreed that the parliamentary public participation processes must take place going forward,” said the PMG.
See the full bill below:
Read: Smoking in South Africa will never be the same again – taxes, laws and more
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