The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the tabling of the long-sought Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill at Nedlac for engagement with Organised Labour and Business.  This is an important Bill that seeks to further capacitate government to manage one of the major threats to public health and the lives of millions of workers.  It builds upon the existing progressive legislative foundation put in place by government led by the African National Congress.

Smoking is highly addictive and a leading cause of cancer and other illnesses.  It has claimed the lives of millions across the world and robbed countless families of loved ones and bread winners as well as bled an already overstretched public healthcare system.

The Federation supports the Bill’s common-sense provisions building upon domestic and international lessons that seek to:

• Prohibit sales of tobacco and related products to children, including the ban on such purchases at schools, vending machines and online platforms.
• Stop smoking in public where non-smokers and children will be exposed, including workplaces, transport and public venues.
• Protect the rights of workers and children who do not want to be exposed to smoking.
• Introduce uniform plain packaging that will warn consumers of the harmful effects of smoking.
• Strengthen restrictions on advertising of tobacco and related products.
• Recognise electronic smoking devices, e.g. vaping, under existing tobacco legislation and controls.

Whilst COSATU welcomes these long overdue legislative amendments to existing law, we are concerned that they do not deal with the explosion in illicit trade that threatens to collapse government’s efforts over many years to discourage and manage the consumption of tobacco.  The illicit trade where cigarettes are routinely sold by informal traders at a quarter of the price of legal products robs the state of billions of Rands of taxes, threatens to collapse legal traders and their workers’ jobs, and encourage a massive rise in smoking by young people.

It is critical that the Bill be substantially strengthened at Nedlac and in Parliament to impose hefty fines, confiscation of assets and imprisonment for persons involved in the illegal trade.  It is equally critical the Bill include provisions empowering the South African Revenue Service to develop track and trace mechanisms to clamp down on the illicit trade.

Parliament must ensure the final draft of the Bill not only affirms the rights of non-smokers and children, discourages the consumption of tobacco and related products and also protects those businesses who abide by the law and pay taxes from those who break it and threaten the collapse of the entire legal regime.  The rise of illicit trade poses a serious threat to society and has been growing at an alarming rate, in particular since COVID-19.  It is time government and Parliament acted decisively in defence of the rights of society.

Issued by COSATU

For further information please contact:

Matthew Parks(COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)

Cell: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za