Government finalising total ban on public smoking

Government is finalising a bill that will see the prohibition of all public smoking, according to Deputy Health Minister Dr Joe Paahla.

Paahla was speaking at a virtual meeting hosted by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on Sunday, where tobacco control was discussed.

Tobacco Control Bill on the way

The meeting took place on a day marked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as World No Tobacco Day.

The deputy minister revealed that government is on the final stages of implementing legislation which will see the country move from a partial ban on public smoking to total prohibition.

“We’re finalising the Tobacco Control Bill to close the gap to protect the public from harmful effects of tobacco use. We continue to identify areas that need strengthening in terms of legislation. We want to change the 25% allowed smoking in public areas to 100% prohibition of smoking in public areas. The regulation of the electronic delivery systems and related products, we want to bring them into the fold so that they can also be controlled,” said Phaahla.

Dr Joe Paahla, Deputy Health Minister

Paahla says the past few years have seen a steady decline in lung-cancer deaths.

“Tobacco is a risk factor in coronary heart disease leading to what is commonly known as heart attacks. It causes several types of cancers, among them lung cancer,” he said.

Government holds firm in its fight against tobacco

This comes just as the government is facing criticism over the continued ban on the sale of tobacco products under the national lockdown.

Paahla defended the extended ban on cigarette sales, which is set to last beyond Alert Level 3 lockdown restrictions.

“The tobacco ban remains the right one. Of the 8 million deaths a year worldwide, 1.2 million of those are passive smokers,” said Phaahla.

Dr Joe Paahla, Deputy Health Minister

The ban is, however, now the subject of a legal battle between the State and the Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita), which is set to hit the courtroom from the second week of June.

According to government, the continued ban on tobacco products is in place to safeguard public health amid the pandemic, as smokers are more susceptible to displaying more severe symptoms of the coronavirus.

“This, in turn, increases strain on the public health system, by increasing the number of people who will need access to resources such as intensive care unit beds and ventilators,” Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Cogta Minister

South Africa has over 30 000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the death toll now at 643.