Tobacco Bill will hurt informal traders – association

The impact of the proposed Tobacco Products Control Bill will have dire consequences for the informal trading industry, which stands to lose a third of its income. A Cape Times report says this is according to the SA Informal Traders Association (Saita). The Bill was published by the Department of Health for public comment in May and the comment period ends on 8 August. The Bill aims to, among other things, control smoking in public places, regulate the sale and advertising of tobacco products, make provision for the standardisation of packaging of cigarettes, and ban the sale of loose cigarettes. Saita president Rosheda Muller said informal traders could face a five-year prison sentence if they displayed cigarettes for sale. Saita would make a formal submission to the Department of Health, Muller said. ‘During the meeting with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and the Department of Health, they confirmed they would be banning the sale of single cigarettes. Our customers cannot afford full packs and if they can’t buy single cigarettes, they will simply buy illicit instead,’ Muller said.