Tobacco bill ‘will be a disaster for township taverners’

The tobacco bill is unworkable in the township economy and will cause great harm to small businesses, the Gauteng Liquor Traders Association (GLTA) said on Monday.

The association, which represents more than 35,000 liquor traders in the province, called for the rejection of the Tobacco Products & Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill after parliament’s public hearings in Gauteng recently.

The GLTA, which attended the hearings, said it is disappointed that parliament had set the dates for the public hearings for month end, which was the busiest time for taverners, who will be most affected by the bill.   

It also alleged that many of those who took time away from their businesses to attend were sent away because the venue was small, and this meant many concerns were not heard.   

Thabo Thlobelo, executive committee member for the GLTA, said it was clear the vast majority of those at the public hearings rejected the bill. He said parliament has a responsibility to consider the views of the public, especially those who will be most affected by proposed legislation.   

“Last weekend, many people were either turned away by security guards or police, or were not afforded the opportunity to be heard. Only after some protests were a handful of people allowed to go into the venue to have their say, but by this stage many had already left,” Thlobelo said. 

The GLTA said its members’ concerns include that the bill proposes a total ban on the display of all tobacco products, a ban on vending machines and a ban on the sale of single cigarettes, or “loose draws”.   

“Millions of people in our country sell single cigarettes to help put food on the table. When people visit taverns, they buy a drink and a cigarette. They don’t want, nor can they afford, a box of 20, and it is surprising that the department of health would advocate for that, given that it is better for people to smoke less, not more.” 

Thlobelo said the display ban means that if a taverner leaves a packet or even a single cigarette on the counter, the bill says they will face a 10-year prison sentence.

Jongikhaya Kraai, spokesperson for GLTA, said the tobacco ban during Covid-19 lockdowns opened the market to illegal cigarette brands in SA.   

“The many bans in the bill, including its proposal that all packets of cigarettes be in exactly the same packaging, with the only difference being the small name of the brand, all in the same font, is going to make it very easy for illegal products to grow their market share,” Kraai said. 

“Bans and these types of limitations may work in other, more developed countries. But they don’t work here, where the consequences of bad legislation are enormous.”

Kraai said the bill says the health minister, through regulations, will decide the distance from a door or window where a person will be allowed to smoke. The previous health minister said this distance would be 10m.   

“There is simply no five, 10 or even 15m sweet spot for smoking in our congested townships. Again, this may work in the leafy suburbs of Sandton or Cape Town, but it cannot work in any township in our country, where doors and windows are a couple of metres away from each other.” 

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