South African Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, speaking during a press briefing. Picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)
Durban – Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the new tobacco bill was an important step towards improving the health of South Africans.
Phaahla was responding to questions posed to him regarding his stance on the newly amended tobacco bill, which is in the process of being passed.
Phaahla said the measures spelt out in the new bill would work together to reduce tobacco, nicotine and the use of other chemicals in related products.
It also aimed to prevent children from using tobacco, nicotine and other related products such as e-cigarettes and to protect non-smokers.
According to Phaahla, tobacco was responsible for more than 25 000 South African deaths a year, which in turn placed added strain on the country’s health system.
IOL asked what role the Department of Health had played in ensuring the bill was passed and implemented.
“DOH has been facilitating consultations with various stakeholders, collecting enough evidence to support the provisions in the bill and following all legal processes as required for policy development, and the DOH will continue to do so,” the minister replied.
After the Cabinet gave the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill the green light for submission to Parliament last month, Dr Catherine Egbe, of the South African Medical Research Council, said the e-cigarette industry would no longer have free rein.
She said there was no scientific evidence to support the notion that e-cigarettes helped smokers to quit smoking conventional cigarettes, an ideal that was pushed by companies.
“That was just propaganda by the vaping or e-cigarette industry. There was never any evidence. Even South African studies that we have done haven’t shown that people who use e-cigarettes actually quit for good.
“What we found was that they were even more likely to relapse or start smoking again,” Egbe said.
With technological developments coming in at a rate of knots, IOL asked the Health Minister how the government planned to stay ahead with regards to legislation.
“The Tobacco Control Bill has been drafted to anticipate future tobacco industry innovations. The DOH continuously monitors the market to ensure adequate protection of the public.
“There may be a need to amend or introduce new regulations to keep up with new innovations,” Phaahla said.
According to the Government Gazette, among other things, the new bill aims to make smoking indoors in public places illegal.
It also seeks to ban the sale of cigarettes through vending machines.
The bill will make graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging mandatory, impose a ban on point-of-sale displays and regulate e-cigarettes and non-nicotine systems.
IOL