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
June 02, 2021 by businesstech.co.za
Government to introduce stricter anti-smoking rules for South Africa
The department of health is pushing forward on a draft bill in an effort to get more stringent anti-smoking laws passed.
The department’s Lynn Moeng told EWN that the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill is currently in the pipeline, and that government is working as ‘fast as it can’ to have it processed.
“We are now finalising the process and once we have done that before it even gets to Cabinet, it needs to be approved by a few technical committees,” she said.
May 18, 2021 by thesouthafrican.com
Cigarettes must now be regulated differently to vaping – informal traders
Vaping should be regulated differently from other tobacco products like cigarettes to encourage people to switch to less harmful forms of smoking the South African Informal Traders Alliance (SAITA) said on Monday.
SAITA secretary general Michael Mokgoja, made the call while welcoming the National Department of Health’s stakeholder consultation process to develop an updated Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) for the draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill.
SAITA has proposed that the Bill regulates harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco differently from cigarettes [...]
May 05, 2021 by iol.co.za
Anti-smoking rhetoric is hurting youth prevention messaging around vapes
For years, anti-tobacco lobbyists have summarily and very aggressively tarred electronic vapour products (EVPs) with the same brush they use to condemn combustible cigarettes, turning an intentional blind eye to the important role that EVPs play in tobacco harm reduction.
Chief executive of the Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA) Asanda Gcoyi said: “This unscientific one-size-fits-all rhetoric by anti-smoking lobbyists has influenced certain governments around the world to pass legislation restricting the marketing and distribution of EVPs under the exact same legislation that applies to normal cigarettes.
April 26, 2021 by iol.co.za
Age verification crackdown at vape stores in bid to prevent underage sales
The next time you visit a vape or e-cigarette retail store in the country, make sure you have your ID.
Retailers that sell electronic cigarette (e-cig) and combustible tobacco products could ask for age verification before selling electronic vapour products (EVPs) as part of a drive to prevent underage sales. This is just one of the guidelines vape and electronic cigarette retail stores are now reinforcing.
The vaping industry has come under intense scrutiny recently amid a wave of underage vaping.
March 09, 2021 by icirnigeria.org
Health researchers say e-cigarettes targeted at university, college students
E-CIGARETTES are targeted at university and college students in South Africa, according to Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, professor of health and executive director of Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, while referring to a recent report by health researchers.
Ayo-Yusuf said the research in question found that of the over 240 vape shops in South Africa, 39 percent were within a 10km radius of a university or college campus, while 65.3 percent were within a 20km radius of a university or college campus.
March 04, 2021 by businesstech.co.za
Push for new e-cigarette and smoking laws in South Africa
Public health researchers have called on the government to pass the Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill into law.
The bill is expected to further regulate the use, marketing and sales of e-cigarettes or vapes in South Africa, with these products currently operating in a legislative vacuum.
In a report published by the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM), the researchers said that it has now been two years since the bill was closed for public comments.
February 22, 2021 by thesouthafrican.com
“Tito, don’t hike tobacco tax, illegal trade is exploding”
Informal traders have pleaded with Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, to consider their plight when he prepares his budget speech and to not hike taxes especially those on tobacco products like e-cigarettes which are growing in popularity.
The South African Informal Traders Alliance (SAITA) called on Mboweni to recognise the sector as a major player in the economy and to consider the impact of spiralling electricity prices, taxes on goods like tobacco products and to provide small businesses with Covid-19 financial relief.
January 22, 2021 by bizcommunity.com
What does the proposed tobacco bill mean for vaping in SA?
With South Africa moving towards the promulgation of the Control of Tobacco and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Bill (2018), health organisations and tobacco-control lobbyists are failing to acknowledge the benefits of harm-reduction products such as electronic vapour products (EVP), says Asanda Gcoyi of the Vapour Products Association of South Africa (VPASA). As the South African government moves to fast-track the final assessment of regulations to introduce legislation to regulate ENDS under the same law as smoking, the vaping industry is alarmed by the false parallel that government and anti-tobacco activists are drawing between the different products. [...]
January 08, 2021 by youtube.com
SA Lockdown | Government to appeal tobacco ban ruling
Government plans to appeal the High Court ruling on the ban of cigarettes during hard lockdown last year. The court found the ban was unnecessary.
January 06, 2021 by bloomberg.com
South Africa Appeal Against Tobacco Ruling Raises Ban Fears
South Africa’s government is appealing a court ruling that last year’s ban on the sale of tobacco products was unconstitutional, an indication that stricter measures to contain the coronavirus may be under consideration.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has filed papers with the Supreme Court of Appeal on a non-urgent basis, her spokesman said in a phone message on Tuesday. The move follows a toughening of lockdown restrictions last week to help ease a resurgence in Covid-19 infections, which have led to a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths.