Tougher curbs on smoking in public loom
But Bay restaurants not too fazed by proposed regulations in wide-ranging bill
Despite a proposed bill that could soon leave smokers out in the cold, business owners in the Bay are optimistic that hungry patrons will not be deterred.
This follows on an announcement from the cabinet last Thursday that it had approved the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which seeks to impose strict measures on smoking.
The draft bill, which will be gazetted for public comment this week, proposes a complete ban on smoking in outdoor public places, prohibits vending machines and brings e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery devices into the regulatory fold for the first time.
National Department of Health acting spokesman Forster Mohale said the bill, if approved, would also prohibit smoking in any indoor public space, which would include restaurants and hotels.
Lorato Mahura, of the department’s tobacco control unit, said the government expected pushback from the tobacco industry.
“Our motive is to protect public health. Their mandate is to protect profits.
“We are going to be tampering with their profit- making processes. Of course they are going to fight back,” Mahura said.
About 18% of adult South Africans were smokers in 2012, the national health and nutrition examination survey showed.
However, News Cafe Summerstrand owner Sandy Zoetmulder was confident that the proposed ban would not be bad for business.
“I don’t think it will be a problem,” Zoetmulder said. “People will still be sociable.
“There might be apprehension in the beginning, but I don’t see it as a bad thing. In the UK and overseas it is normal [not to be allowed to smoke inside].”
Music Kitchen owner Ian Mitchell said the business might only experience an impact at the beginning.
“Initially it might have an impact and I might lose one or two customers, but once it becomes the norm, people will realise [that it’s the law].”
The proposed bill is not limited to regulating smoking in public places. One of the biggest proposed changes is the regulation of e-cigarettes and other electronic devices for delivering nicotine that are not covered by the Tobacco Products Control Act.
“They are marketed as alternatives to smoking-cessation products. The reality is that they are not as toxic as cigarettes but are still toxic. Nicotine is harmful over time,” Mahura said.
The bill aims to reduce demand by scrapping point-of-sale advertising and requiring retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight. It also proposes plain packaging with graphic health warnings.
Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa chairman Francois van der Merwe said many of the bill’s measures to curb consumption had failed in other countries.
Plain packaging would simply increase the sale of illicit products, which constituted 25% of the South African market, he said.
The government should focus on stamping out illicit trade rather than introducing new measures to control tobacco products, Van der Merwe said.
He predicted strong opposition from small businesses to the bill’s restrictions on point-of-sale advertising. About 30% to 40% of South Africa’s cigarette sales are in the informal sector.
“We support sensible legislation, but not extreme measures,” he said.
