New smoking laws back on the table

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. Now sitting in Parliament and on the agenda of the seventh administration, the Bill was first introduced in the National Assembly in December 2022. BusinessTech reports that the Bill intends to ‘strengthen public health protection measures’ by aligning prevailing tobacco control legislation with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control imperatives. It is proposed legislation that will regulate the sale, advertising and use of tobacco products and electronic delivery systems. It seeks to, inter alia, impose stricter product and related product processing, manufacturing and import standards; regulate tobacco product and electronic delivery system advertising and standardise the ‘packaging and appearance’ of tobacco and electronic delivery system products. Dr Sharon Nyatsanza of the National Council Against Smoking said that the legislation represented a significant step towards promoting a healthier society.

‘Strong tobacco control policy is central to reducing SA’s heavy burden of non-communicable diseases and will support sustainable implementation of (the) National Health Insurance by bringing domestic legislation closer to global standards, said Nyatsanza. BusinessTech notes that she added that the measures in the Bill ‘are set to reduce tobacco use, exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke as well as the initiation of tobacco use by young people.’ Lead investigator of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey-SA, Dr. Catherine Egbe of the SA Medical Research Council, said that the findings of the research, which showed a high prevalence of tobacco usage across SA, ‘highlights the urgent need to pass the Bill as soon as possible.’ SA Tobacco-Free Youth Forum spokesperson Lesego Mateme, said ‘it is clear that the youth are the targets of the aggressive marketing tactics of the tobacco and e-cigarette industries’.