Smoking in South Africa
In South Africa, cigarettes are legally allowed to be sold and used, but they are regulated with some restrictions. Tobacco advertising is regulated, but there is no comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising. The minimum legal age to buy cigarettes is 18 years, and health warnings on packaging are required. Cigarettes cannot be purchased online, but they are available through vending machines and other sales channels. Smoking is not fully restricted in all public places. The country applies a specific excise tax of 47.04%, contributing to a total taxation rate of 60.09% on cigarettes. The current prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults aged 15 years and older in South Africa, was recorded to be 23.3% in 2024. In comparison, this was 20.2% in 2020 and 20.7% in 2019. Data by gender from 2024 indicate that 39.3% of adult males and 8.5% of adult females were tobacco smokers, illustrating a significant gender differences in smoking habits. The total number of current smokers in 2024 was estimated to be 10.9 million individuals. The adult daily tobacco smoking prevalence in 2021 was 21.2%, with 35.1% among males and 8.3% among females. In terms of mortality, smoking accounted for 4.42% of all deaths in South Africa in 2021, and it led to 5.75% of male deaths compared to 2.86% of female deaths. The annual number of smoking-related deaths in 2021 was 32,442, including 22,817 males and 9,625 females. The number of smokers in 2022 was approximately 8,617,084, showing an increase from 8,323,703 smokers in 2020. These statistics represent the ongoing public health challenge posed by tobacco smoking in South Africa, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to reduce smoking prevalence and related mortality.
Read articles from South Africa
July 26, 2023 by dailymaverick.co.za
Smokers cough up 50% to 80% more in life insurance premiums
While smokers have long been rated as higher risk when it comes to health and life insurance, people who vape are now also considered candidates with a higher risk.
July 11, 2023 by moneyweb.co.za
Backlash against new tobacco bill gets white hot
Smokers feel they have had it rough these last few years, what with the outright tobacco ban for five months during Covid and tighter restrictions on where and how you can smoke.
Older smokers recall with fondness the days you could smoke on aircraft, in pubs and restaurants, and at the office. Those days are over, but the war on smokers continues, and a quarter of South Africans who smoke don’t like this one bit, as the comments on the Dear South Africa platform make clear.
In future, if the Department of Health (DoH) has its way, retailers will have to hide their cigarette displays from public eyes, cigarettes will come in plain packets, [...]
May 22, 2023 by dailymaverick.co.za
Misleading tobacco industry stealth advertising misrepresents Swedish e-cigarette model
There 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, instead of regulating or restricting the sale and marketing of these products.
Articles and a full-page advert in the Sunday Times of 30 April 2023 link back to SmokeFreeSweden.org. In fact, Sweden strictly regulates e-cigarettes and the country’s laudable progress in becoming smoke-free is attributable to a long history of strong tobacco control measures starting in 1975.
May 09, 2023 by businesstech.co.za
Smoking in South Africa will never be the same again – taxes, laws and more
Market disruptors such as e-cigarettes have reshaped how the government regulates and taxes smoking in South Africa.
From 1 June 2023, nicotine-substitute solutions, including vaping products, will be taxed at a flat excise duty rate of R2.90/ml – illustrating a keen move by the government to extend the tax net over developing and new methods of smoking in the country.
However, the biggest player in the Tobacco space, British American Tobacco (BAT), as well as the Vapour Products Association of South Africa, have warned that the new tax will likely end up pushing prices up by as much as 138%, forcing consumers to the illicit market.
February 03, 2023 by mg.co.za
The tobacco bill violates human rights
Every South African has the right to equality, the right to access information, the right to healthcare, and the right to life, according to the Bill of Rights enshrined in the constitution. This includes the 12.7 million South Africans who consume nicotine in all forms.
The Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill will rob people of these rights because of the tightened restrictions around one of the most effective tools in reducing harm and achieving smoking cessation.
December 12, 2022 by newsday.co.zw
Adopt new products to curb tobacco-related deaths, African govts told
AFRICAN governments have been implored to adopt new strategies to reduce public health threats caused by tobacco as eight million deaths are recorded every year.
Health experts, who converged in Nairobi, Kenya, last week at the second edition of the Harm Reduction Exchange, noted that the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. [...] The experts revealed that all forms of tobacco were harmful where cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide.
December 05, 2022 by thrnigeria.org
Smoking: Africa Must Prioritize Harm Reduction – Experts
With about eight million persons dying annually due to smoking-related illness and outright quitting being difficult for most smokers, Africa and, indeed, the global community cannot afford to pay lip service to tobacco harm reduction, experts have warned.
The experts from different fields spoke at an exchange programme with the theme, Harm Reduction: Making a Difference in Africa.
Speaking on the need to prioritize harm reduction, a cross section of the discussants noted that there are plethora of researches which suggest that harm reduction is a veritable tool to lower death and diseases.
November 16, 2022 by businesstech.co.za
New smoking laws for South Africa – big trouble for anyone lighting up near children
Anyone or business that sells cigarettes to a minor can be fined or sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
This includes companies that distribute any confectionery, toy or any items that resemble or likely promote the related reduced-risk products.
This is according to the new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, which is currently before Parliament.
South Africa is forging ahead with proposed legislation that introduces strict new antismoking rules and regulates e-cigarettes.
November 09, 2022 by youtube.com
Joseph Magero featured on K24 TV LIVE Safe Alternatives for Smokers Health and Wellness
Watch this interesting Live talk about smoking harm reduction. Feat. Joseph Magero from Campaign for Safer Alternatives (CASA).
October 12, 2022 by theconversation.com
From e-cigarettes to hookah pipes, South Africa aims to tighten tobacco laws
Tobacco is a leading cause of disease. It is estimated that it kills half of its consumers. Over a million additional deaths result from exposure to second hand smoke. Countries around the world are moving towards stricter regulation of tobacco products in compliance with their obligation to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In 2018 South Africa published a tobacco control bill that sought to better regulate the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.[...] Ina Skosana speaks to Catherine Egbe, a lead researcher on South Africa’s Global Adult Smoking Survey, about the latest developments.