South Africa: Committee on Health Receives Inputs on Tobacco Bill from Lesedi Black Business Forum and World Vapers Alliance

The Portfolio Committee on Health has received briefings from the Lesedi Black Business Forum (LBBF) and the World Vapers Alliance (WVA) on the Tobacco and Electronic Delivery System Control Bill.

The LBBF supported the objectives of the Bill but called for a balance between public health and economic considerations. It said it has interacted with the Department of Health, via an online workshop organised by the department in 2020 but the LBBF is disappointed that the issues it raised in that workshop are not reflected in the final draft Bill submitted to Parliament.

On regulation, it said it supports efforts to reduce smoking in South Africa. Mr Lobi of the LBBF said a smarter, more practical approach is required to achieve the Bill’s goal while avoiding harm to communities and businesses in the process. He urged the government to focus more on stopping the out-of-control illicit tobacco trade, which harms young people and the poor the most.

The LBBF said the government should work on preventing young people from smoking by using behavioural and educational programmes, as was done in the past with HIV/Aids awareness campaigns, for instance. These programmes are key to finding a lasting solution to reducing smoking.

Mr Lobi said: “We have a problem with the criminalisation of smokers. Treating smokers as criminals is unfair and ineffective, and we encourage a more supportive approach to help them quit.”

The LBBF emphasised that in their local municipality, tobacco manufacturing is an anchor industry but it is being jeopardised by the Bill, should it be adopted as it is. Mr Lobi added: “Beyond specific Lesedi consideration, the Bill fails to account for the commercial interests of small traders that dot the South African landscape due to lack of employment opportunities.”

The WVA is concerned that the Bill equates vaping with smoking. Provisions such as flavour bans, advertising restrictions, plain packaging and public use bans exacerbate the situation. Overregulation may drive consumers back to smoking or the illicit market. Notably, WVA said the Bill fails to acknowledge vaping as a tool for harm reduction. The WVA in its briefing submitted evidence from Sweden, demonstrating a remarkable 55% decline in smoking rates over the past decade.

Committee chairperson Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said inputs made during the public engagement process will be taken into consideration and applied when the committee starts its deliberation on the Bill after consultations with the public are completed.

The objective of the Bill is to strengthen public health protection measures, align South African tobacco control law with the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and repeal the Tobacco Control Act of 1993 and its amendments.

Key provisions in the Bill include the introduction of 100 percent smoke-free indoor public places and certain outdoor areas; a ban on the sale of cigarettes through vending machines; the implementation of plain packaging with graphic health warnings; a ban on the display of products at points of sale; and the regulation and control of electronic nicotine delivery systems and non-nicotine delivery systems.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.