Top scientist Professor Shabir Madhi says that, from a scientific perspective, there isn't much merit in preventing the sale of cigarettes but allowing people to buy alcohol. "Unfortunately, there really isn't much merit from a scientific perspective in terms of banning smoking but allowing people to buy alcohol – in fact, what we are seeing right now is that the sale of alcohol is resulting in an increased pressure on our healthcare facilities," Madhi said in citing issues directly related to alcohol abuse.