Jackson Mthembu alcohol ban

Photo: SA GOV / Twitter

Mthembu: ‘Cigarette ban won’t last longer than Level 3’

Mthembu said that the ban is unlikely to go on beyond Level 3 lockdown, although he couldn’t say when Level 2 would come around.

Jackson Mthembu alcohol ban

Photo: SA GOV / Twitter

The ban on cigarettes is unlikely to go on any longer than the Level 3 alert phase, according to Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, with government having handed in their court papers regarding the impending court battle with Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) over the ban on Wednesday 27 May. 

He also said on Thursday 28 May that he doesn’t know for sure how long Level 3 would last. 

‘I can assure you…’ 

Speaking to EWN, Mthembu said that he anticipated the ban being lifted shortly after the latest restrictions, to be enforced from June 1, were once again amended.

“The ban on cigarettes, it’s just at this level we are in. We don’t know how many weeks we will be at this level. I can assure you after we’ve been out of Level 3, I don’t see the ban on the sale of cigarettes continuing,” Mthembu said.

He said government would also enter into a process of public debate on some of the measures to be introduced after Level 3. 

“Those representations will not apply for Level 3 because indeed the president has given us all marching orders as it relates to Level 2,” he said.

He didn’t give much away here but with legal challenges on the ban piling up and public outcry over the inflated prices they are paying through the black market reaching fever pitch, it seems as though government resistance is waning. 

Government say smokers at greater risk

Government submitted their affidavit in relation to the court case with Fita on Wednesday, and in it they suggested that the ban was worth maintaining because smokers have a far greater risk of incurring some of COVID-19’s most severe symptoms, although this has been disputed by multiple reports. 

Tax Justice South Africa tweeted on Thursday that around “R2.2 billion” had been surrendered in terms of tax revenue form the sale of cigarettes, and said that this alone could have funded “12 250 ventilators” to assist those with severe symptoms.