Laws surrounding cigarettes and electronic vaping products in South Africa are likely to become much stricter as a bill heads to parliament, reports Business Insider South Africa.

The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill’s that was first drawn up five years ago has been submitted to parliament and looks likely to replace the Tobacco Products Control Act of 1993. The bill proposes banning smoking in all enclosed public place as well as allowing the health minister to prohibit smoking in certain outdoor areas with the goal of reducing or preventing the public’s exposure to smoking. According to Business Insider South Africa, it will also ban smoking in a motor vehicle or any enclosed private space, while in the presence of a non-smoker or a child.
Furthermore, the bill will change how tobacco products are packaged, labelled, displayed and sold with packaging becoming standardised and no longer featuring brand elements. Shops selling tobacco products will only be able to display “a single prescribed notice informing consumers that a list of relevant or related products for sale, along with their prices and quantities, may be requested at the sales counter” while cigarette vending machines will be banned, reports Business Insider South Africa.
The key aim of the bill is “to deter people, especially children and youth, from using tobacco products, encourage existing users to quit, and protect non-smokers from tobacco smoke exposure.”
It is expected that the health minister will be introducing the bill in the National Assembly “shortly”, according to a notice published by the department.