June - 2020

Victory against the tobacco industry in South Africa during the COVID – 19 pandemic: A source of ins

Statement of Leonce SESSOU, Executive Secretary, African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) "The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential." This is a unanimous conclusion by Judges Mlambo, Molefe and Basson on Friday 26 June 2020 while passing their judgment on the case between Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association’s (FITA) and the Government of South Africa regarding the ban on sale of cigarettes, e- cigarettes and other tobacco products ban during t

Bad news for smokers: High court says cigarette ban was rational

Fita attempted to have the order declaring the ban on sales changed. The North Gauteng High Court on Friday dismissed the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association’s (Fita) urgent challenge to the controversial ban on cigarette and tobacco product sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the ban did not have to be “the best nor the most suitable” approach. “The discretion to choose suitable means is that of the repository of public power,” the court said. Last month, Fita

A win for public health as court finds that the temporary ban on sale of tobacco is rational

Statement of Savera Kalideen (NCAS Executive Director) Johannesburg, S.A – The high court of South Africa Gauteng division ruled on Friday that the temporary ban on the sale of tobacco and vaping products during the COVID-19 pandemic is rational. It will save lives and ease the burden on our overstretched health system. The National Council Against Smoking welcomes the judgement as a win for public health. The ruling reaffirms the duty of government to protect life and the

How to stub out the habit

There is help for many people who want to quit smoking Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Aairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is hellbent on keeping the ban on the sale of cigarettes during level three of lockdown as Mzansi battles the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of her motivation is that many South Africans will have quit by the time the pandemic subsides. But is it indeed better to quit the habit? Last Sunday was World No Tobacco Day. The National Council Against Smok

Young people are key to a nicotine-free future: five steps to stop them smoking

Tobacco use kills more than 8 million people each year and most adult smokers start smoking before the age of 20 This implies that if one can get through adolescence without smoking, the likelihood of being a smoker in adulthood is greatly reduced. Preventing young people from becoming addicted to tobacco and related products is therefore key to a smoke-free future. With the advent of novel tobacco products and the tobacco industry falsely marketing them as less harmful than

Support is available to help you stop smoking

Statement of Sharon Nyatsanza (NCAS Project & Communications Manager) The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our lives. For many it is an unexpected opportunity to become healthier, by not smoking. The reasons for smoking vary, many adults smoke because of habit or routine, some because they are addicted and others smoke to relax. When you smoke nicotine reaches the brain in 10 seconds providing a short-lived high, this feeling fades quickly and you will have to smoke more to prov

| Here's how the state justified the tobacco ban in court. Will it be enough?

Can the government justify its decision to ban the sale of tobacco products based on what the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) says are a few inconclusive studies, especially when people have not stopped smoking and its good intentions are mostly proving to have created a breeding ground for the black market? This is the question the Pretoria High Court judges were left to apply their minds to after FITA tore into the state's argument that banning sales will

Cigarette ban is both legal and supported by science, State argues in court

The government has maintained in court that Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, acted legally and rationally in banning the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products under the nationwide lockdown, saying the Disaster Management Act affords the minister broad powers to safeguard the health of SA citizens. The case, brought by the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association, was argued before three judges in the Pretoria High Cour

Landmark legal victory for public health and a major setback for the tobacco industry

Today we are celebrating a major victory for public health and tobacco control. On June 9, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body reported on the dispute brought by Honduras and the Dominican Republic against Australia: “Australia — Tobacco Plain Packaging. This decision puts an end to the disputes which began in 2012 and saw Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia and Ukraine (Ukraine later decided to withdraw its complaint in June 2015)[1] bring legal

Lifting the veil: A philosophical investigation of the tobacco ban

Opposition to the tobacco ban stems from two distinct camps. The first is a libertarian opposition I call the ‘My Lungs, My Choice Movement’, and the second, the ‘Black Market Brigade’, whose concerns rest on corruption and criminality in the black market. As I outline below, a moral approach to public policy in South Africa should give short shrift to both sets of complaints. With the arrival of South Africa’s Patient Zero, the coronavirus set the government down a path of v

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