New tobacco law expected this year – official

A senior Department of Health official says the Bill seeking to tighten SA’s anti-smoking legislation and to regulate e-cigarettes is expected to be submitted to Parliament before the end of the year. A Business Day report notes the Control of Tobacco Products & Electronic Delivery Systems Bill has been in the pipeline since 2018 and has been staunchly opposed by the tobacco and e-cigarette industries. Government’s failure to process the Bill has frustrated public health experts, who say SA has fallen behind global best practice. The 2008 Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act now in force has not been updated in more than a decade and has no measures for regulating new-generation products such as vaping products. The new Bill proposes a complete ban on smoking in public places, introduces plain packaging, regulates e-cigarettes, prohibits point-of-sale advertising and scraps vending machine sales.