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It may not be too long before smoking in public is a thing of the past.

A shake-up of South Africa’s smoking laws has been on the cards for years, with news that a total public smoking ban was a possibility stretching as far back as 2017 and gathering momentum in 2020.

Ironic, given that for most of 2020 smokers had to resort to illegally buying black market cigarettes due to the tobacco sales ban.

Remember those days? You’ll tell your grandchildren and they’ll think you’ve lost your marbles.

This week, the Department of Health gazetted the explanatory notes for the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill.

In the coming weeks, this will be introduced to the National Assembly after Cabinet approved the bill. When introduced as law, it will replace the Tobacco Products Control Act of 1993.

What does this mean for smokers? Details below via BusinessTech:

• 100% smoke-free for indoor public places and certain outdoor areas as the minister may prescribe;
• The ban on the sale of cigarettes through vending machines;
• Plain packaging with graphic health warnings or pictorials;
• Ban on display at point-of-sale; and
• The regulation and control of electronic nicotine delivery systems and non-nicotine delivery systems and to provide for matters connected therewith.

As it stands, the law allows for designated smoking areas inside bars, taverns, and restaurants, on the condition that the smoking area accounts for less than 25% of the venue’s space.

The new law will mean a 100% prohibition of smoking in these public areas.

Smoking in the workplace would also be banned, with a knock-on effect for households. It would outlaw smoking in the presence of domestic workers or gardeners, for example.

Business Insider SA also highlighted a few significant changes:

Smoking in a motor vehicle or any enclosed private space, while in the presence of a non-smoker or a child, will also be prohibited, as will smoking in an enclosed common area of a multi-unit residence, like a stairwell or passage.

…stores will be limited to displaying “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.”

Breaking these laws will be harshly punished.

If you are caught smoking in a banned area, you could receive a fine or up to three months in jail.

Those who illegally manufacture, import, or distribute black market cigarettes could face up to 10 years in jail.

Does that also apply to Julius Malema and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s alleged pal, Adriano Mazzotti, or has he bought sufficient political protection over the years?

[sources:bustech&businsider]