State urged to tighten tobacco laws

• SA’s 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey shows 41.7% of men and 17.9% of women use tobacco products, as do one in four 15-year-olds

Public health experts have urged the government to revive its plans to tighten tobacco control, as a new survey reveals more than 29% of South Africans either smoke or use smokeless tobacco products.

Public health experts have urged the government to revive its plans to tighten tobacco control, as a new survey reveals more than 29% of South Africans either smoke or use smokeless tobacco products.

A draft bill with measures to regulate e-cigarettes and other new-generation products was published for comment in 2018, but the updated version has yet to be submitted to parliament or approved by the cabinet.

Preliminary results from SA’s 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (Gats) show 41.7% of men and 17.9% of women use tobacco products, and that 18% of adults were exposed to tobacco smoke inside their own homes.

The nationally representative survey used methodology designed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and was done by the Medical Research Council. It included 6,311 households, and respondents were 15 years or older.

Smoking prevalence among both men (41.2%) and women (11.5%) was higher than the rates reported in the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (37% for men and 8% for women) highlighting the urgent need for the government to step up its control of tobacco products, said the study’s principal investigator Catherine Egbe, a senior scientist at the MRC Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Research Unit.

The data indicated more people are picking up the habit, challenging the tobacco industry’s claims that devices such as e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products help people quit, she said on Tuesday.

These products are not regulated in SA, as the current legislation was crafted before the new-generation products were launched.

“The data shows SA still has a lot of work to do. The sooner we start the better, because lives are at stake. The more the bill is delayed, the more young people are lured into smoking,” Egbe said in an interview with Business Day.

The draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill was released for comment in 2018, but a revised version incorporating public input has yet to be sent to parliament. Department of health officials have finalised their work on the bill, which only requires final sign-off from health minister Joe Phaahla before being submitted to the cabinet, said his deputy Sibongiseni Dhlomo. Once the cabinet is satisfied with the bill, it will be sent to parliament.

National Council Against Smoking executive director Lekan Ayo-Yusuf said tobacco use had increased in SA in the past decade, particularly among young people. One in four 15-year-olds is a smoker, he said. “Current legislation is not working. There is an urgent need to pass the bill and regulate tobacco use,” he said.

The prevalence of tobacco use in SA is relatively high compared to other African countries that have conducted Gats surveys, said Egbe. The 2018 Tanzanian survey put the prevalence of tobacco use at 8.7%.

The SA survey found 4.3% of adults use smokeless tobacco products, with prevalence much higher among women (7.2%) than men (1.1%). However, the prevalence of e-cigarette use is higher among men (3.8%) than women (0.7%).

The median price of a packet of 20 cigarettes purchased by respondents was R24.70, significantly below the R40-R50 typically paid for popular brands, suggesting widescale use of illicit products that have not been taxed. The excise duty on a packet of cigarettes in 2021/ 2022 was R18.79, according to the Treasury’s Budget Review.