Tobacco industry stakeholders say the newly proposed smoking laws in South Africa introduce extreme and inappropriate penalties for businesses in the country and destroy thousands of small businesses and the jobs they provide, reports BusinessTech.
The new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill is currently open for public comment. The bill was introduced in parliament in mid-December 2022, and has undergone extensive reviews and consultations.
The bill outlines new regulations and prohibitions for tobacco smoking and e-cigarettes. The bill includes a complete ban on the display of all tobacco and related products across all retail channels, even in specialist tobacco stores, causing concerns across the industry. The ban includes the display of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vapes, hookah pipes and heat-not-burn devices. In the case of specialist tobacconists, tobacco and vaping are typically the only products they sell.
A survey conducted by Clippa Sales and Casa Tabacs of more than 200 specialist tobacconists in South Africa – representing 1,769 stores which directly employ 3,194 people – found “overwhelming opposition” to the new bill.
According to the survey, 98 per cent of respondents, all small businesses operating across the country, disagreed with the display ban, with 99.5 per cent saying it would severely impact their business, threaten their sustainability and place thousands of jobs at risk.
In addition, 75 per cent said the bill would criminalise hard-working legal businesses, while 86 per cent said it would damage the lives of employees who depend on small businesses, especially in these exceptionally difficult economic times.
The bill prescribes a penalty of 10 years imprisonment or a fine for displaying a single packet of cigarettes on the counter, even if done accidentally, the report said. 99.5% of respondents considered the penalty extreme, inappropriate and severely damaging to small businesses.