Philip Morris SA has urged the government to create exemption in its new tobacco bill that would enable it to provide consumers information about its heated tobacco product, IQOS. The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, gazetted for public comment on May 9, contains provisions that prohibit all tobacco product advertising. If enacted in its current form, it would prevent Philip Morris from providing consumers with information about IQOS, said Neetesh Ramjee, head of corporate affairs for reduced-risk products, on Monday. "The current legislation allows the minister to exempt certain products. It would make sense to insert this clause into the new bill. If we don’t have this mechanism, people will stay on cigarettes," Ramjee said. About 7-million South Africans are smokers, he said. Current tobacco legislation permits Philip Morris to provide smokers with information about IQOS, for example, in leaflets attached to cigarette packets, said Ramjee. Under t...
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