{"id":786650,"date":"2024-08-13T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=786650"},"modified":"2024-08-13T14:22:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T12:22:55","slug":"new-smoking-laws-for-south-africa-are-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/786650\/new-smoking-laws-for-south-africa-are-back\/","title":{"rendered":"New smoking laws for South Africa are back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>After lapsing at the end of the previous administration, the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill has been revived by Parliament for further processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now sitting in Parliament and on the agenda of the seventh administration, the Bill was first introduced in the National Assembly back in December 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Bill, it intends to &#8220;strengthen public health protection measures\u2019 by aligning prevailing tobacco control legislation with World Health Organisation (WHO)&nbsp;Framework Convention on Tobacco Control imperatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is proposed legislation that will regulate the sale, advertising, and use of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among other things, it seeks to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Impose stricter product and related product processing, manufacturing and import standards;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regulate tobacco product and electronic delivery system advertising;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Standardise the \u2018packaging and appearance\u2019 of tobacco and electronic delivery system products;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prohibit smoking in all indoor public places as well as \u2018certain outdoor areas\u2019;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ban cigarette vending machines;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make \u2018plain packaging with graphic health warnings and pictorials\u2019 mandatory; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ban the display of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems at points-of-sale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bill&#8217;s revival has stoked mixed reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Sharon Nyatsanza of the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) said that the legislation represents a significant step towards promoting a healthier society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Strong tobacco control policy is central to reducing South Africa&#8217;s heavy burden of non-communicable diseases and will support sustainable implementation of [the] National Health Insurance,&#8221; by bringing domestic legislation closer to global standards, said Nyatsanza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She added that the measures in the Bill &#8220;are set to reduce tobacco use,&nbsp;exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke as well as the initiation of tobacco use by young people.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead investigator of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-South Africa&nbsp;(GATS-SA), Dr. Catherine Egbe of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)&nbsp;said that the findings of the research, which showed a high prevalence of tobacco usage across South Africa, &#8220;highlights the urgent need to pass the Bill as soon as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;GATS-SA indicates that 29.4% of those aged 15 years and up\u2014equating to 12.7 million people\u2014use tobacco, exposing themselves to severe health risks such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory disorders,&#8221; said Egbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;E-cigarette use among youth is also on the rise, raising concerns about nicotine addiction and long-term health implications, especially for young people whose brains can be impacted by nicotine,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"nag8QQy5De\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/777055\/new-smoking-laws-for-south-africa-coming-as-almost-a-third-of-all-adults-light-up-every-day\/\">New smoking laws for South Africa coming &#8211; as almost a third of all adults light up every day<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;New smoking laws for South Africa coming &#8211; as almost a third of all adults light up every day&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/777055\/new-smoking-laws-for-south-africa-coming-as-almost-a-third-of-all-adults-light-up-every-day\/embed\/#?secret=w8wBsEh0wi#?secret=nag8QQy5De\" data-secret=\"nag8QQy5De\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking about the rise of e-cigarette usage among the youth, a youth advocate from the South African Tobacco-Free Youth Forum, Lesego Mateme, said \u201cit is clear that the youth are the targets of the aggressive marketing tactics of the tobacco and e-cigarette industries.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Tobacco and emerging tobacco products should be viewed as threats to our generation,\u201d said Mateme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr Egbe said that the measures proposed in the Bill are an effective strategy to reduce tobacco and e-cigarette use and should be urgently implemented, along with tax increases.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Our government has all the research available to support every evidence-based measure in the Bill, and should not be swayed by misinformation,&#8221; said Egbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not everyone is on board<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The National Assembly Health Committee under the previous Parliament called for written submissions on the bill. Nationwide public hearings were then held, ending in December 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During that process, committee media statements on the outcomes of several hearings tended to point to widespread in-principle support for the Bill\u2019s health-related objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, at a more practical level, numerous pressing concerns were raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Possible job losses in the industry should manufacturers downsize in the face of more onerous, costly regulatory requirements;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The consequential likelihood of increased trade in illicit tobacco products;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A possible reduction in tax revenue from the production and sale of legal tobacco products and electronic delivery systems;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inadequate attention to the Bill\u2019s implications for small and informal traders (especially those selling single cigarettes);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inadequate attention to the Bill\u2019s implications for tobacco farmers (especially small-scale and emerging farmers); and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inadequate monitoring and enforcement capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Statista, revenue from the legal cigarettes market in South Africa will amount to an estimated\u00a0R268 billion in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the cigarette market in South Africa remains prevalent, its illicit trade has boomed, and those against the Bill believe that such legislation could fuel even further growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African government has lost an estimated R119 billion in excise and Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenue between 2002 and 2022 as a result of the country\u2019s sprawling illicit cigarette market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022 alone, R15 billion was lost in excise revenue and R3 billion in VAT revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is according to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bmjopen.bmj.com\/content\/bmjopen\/14\/3\/e077855.full.pdf\">recent study<\/a>&nbsp;by Nicole Vellios and Corn\u00e9 van Walbeek from the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products at the University of Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the study, the illicit cigarette market made up 5% of the country&#8217;s cigarette market in 2009. In 2022, it was 58%, a slight decrease from its peak of 60% in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During several public hearings, the SA Legal Academy said calls were made for the Bill to be sent to the National Economic Development and Labour Council for more robust consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In addition, it appears that no socio-economic impact assessment was ever conducted.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;With those issues&nbsp;in mind, it remains to be seen how the new National Assembly Health Committee proceeds,&#8221; said the SA Legal Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/786393\/showdown-over-party-funding-in-south-africa-this-week\/\">Showdown over party funding in South Africa this week<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parliament has revived the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which aims to make big changes to smoking laws in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":786659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[20372],"class_list":["post-786650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-control-of-tobacco-products-and-electronic-delivery-systems-bill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786650"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786678,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786650\/revisions\/786678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}