On 31 May 2023, WHO and public health champions around the world will come together to celebrate World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) under the theme – We need food, not tobacco! In support of World No Tobacco Day, health and community organisations in South Africa, united through the Protect our Next partnership, are ramping up initiatives that encourage...
Despite the efforts of authorities, illicit cigarettes in their millions are filtering into South Africa, sidestepping tax and customs levies. Edward Kieswetter, the commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), said: “The country is battling the scourge of illicit cigarettes smuggled from a neighbouring country, with a view to not only displace legitimate manufacturers...
With the absence of regulations in South Africa, e-cigarette use is increasing among youths, perpetuating nicotine addiction and leading some of them to start smoking traditional cigarettes. here have recently been misleading calls for South Africa to adopt the Swedish model of regulating e-cigarettes, a model positioned by tobacco-industry supported organisations as making alternative products widely available,...
From 1 June 2023, nicotine-substitute solutions, including vaping products, will be included in the tax net with a flat excise duty rate of R2.90/ml. Excise duty on vaping tobacco products has been in the pipeline for a while – the tax was first announced in finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2022 budget speech. The South African Revenue...
South Africa is set to see some major changes to tobacco, vape and cannabis smoking this year with a handful of new regulations in the pipeline. New bills relating to smoking form part of the 42 bills before Parliament, which include a mix of consequential, medium-level and minor legislation, said the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG). The PMG...
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has announced that taxes on cigarettes and alcohol will be raised in 2023 – but lovers of sugary drinks will catch a break. Delivering his 2023 budget speech, the minister said that no major tax developments were being announced for 2023, at least on the budget’s revenue side. This was due to...
British American Tobacco in South Africa (Batsa says 200 of its workers will be out of a job soon, but public health researchers argue they’re using misleading figures to explain why they’re downsizing. Batsa claims the illegal tobacco trade in South Africa makes up 70% of the market. The figure is a misquote...
Cape Town - In the context of declining tobacco use on a global level, tobacco use in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to increase substantially in the coming decades. This is the result of fast economic and population growth, coupled with intensive marketing efforts by the tobacco industry. Tobacco use is a leading cause of death and...
Tobacco use imposes a significant health and economic burden on countries. Research estimates that the cost of smoking in South Africa amounted to 0.97% of the country’s GDP in 2016. These costs are likely to have increased as a result of the observed rise in smoking prevalence over the past five years. In 2021, South Africa conducted its first...
The Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill has been tabled before parliament, starting the process of getting proposed changes for smokers and the tobacco industry into law. An explanatory note on the proposed laws was gazetted in October, with the Department of Health giving notice that the bill would be tabled in the...
