New smoking laws for South Africa are coming

 ·3 Feb 2025

The Portfolio Committee on Health is making progress with its provincial public hearings on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, with the latest consultations wrapping up in Western Cape.

The consultations are part of an extended process to deliberate on the new smoking and vaping laws, announced in November 2024.

According to the committee, the proposed laws continue to receive a mixed response from the public at large, echoing the feedback given in previous consultations before the bill lapsed ahead of the 2024 elections.

The bill was revived under the new administration in July 2024, but received blowback from businesses and unions at Nedlac, leading to more consultations being done.

On October 25, legal advisers actually cleared the health portfolio committee to proceed with the bill, despite MPs being divided.

Following mounting pressure from some business, labour and certain parties within the government of national unity (GNU), the laws were sent back for further national consultation and public feedback.

The headline changes in the bill include:

  • Regulating the burgeoning electronic nicotine and electronic non-nicotine delivery system market (ie, vapes)
  • Introducing plain packaging with graphic health warnings and pictorials
  • A total ban on the display of products at the point of sale
  • A total ban on vending machines for these products and
  • Introducing 100% smoke-free areas in indoor public places and certain outdoor areas

In the latest round of feedback, the committee said that “a majority of participants” support the bill’s intentions and benefits, particularly its positive effects on public health.

Supporters said that these benefits outweigh the suggested negative consequences of the laws, it said.

Supporters flagged the following positives:

  • The laws will clamp down on the prevalence of products, such as hookah pipes and vapes, which are increasingly enticing young people and exposing them to harm.
  • The laws will rein in vaping and e-cigarette products, which they believe encourage the youth to move on to harder and more harmful products.
  • The laws will curb the consumption of tobacco products, decreasing the burden on national health resources due to related cancer, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes.
  • Banning advertising at the point of sale, plain packaging and graphic pictorials depicting the dangers of smoking, will reduce the numbers of those taking up smoking in the first place.

However, some feedback strongly objected to the potential economic impact of the bill and the threat of adding to the country’s already high unemployment rate.

They flagged these negatives:

  • The laws are a threat to jobs, particularly small-scale traders who will have their livelihoods hit by the prohibition on single-stick cigarettes.
  • The ban on advertising at the point of sale will render some businesses inoperable, as they attract customers through the visible display of tobacco products.
  • Business owners within the vaping industry argued that the current Bill does little to address regulatory loopholes within the sector.
  • It was argued that vapes should be regulated under different legislative prescripts, as they are different from the tobacco products currently contained in the Bill.
  • There were many concerns that the laws would increase the market share of illicit cigarettes.
  • Some participants argued that the current focus should be on irradicating the illicit market that has taken hold of the sector, especially after the Covid restrictions.

The committee will now continue its work and public consultations, with oral hearings scheduled in Cape Town for individuals and organisations that previously indicated their desire to make presentations before it.

The Bill can be found below:

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