From the Associate editor
In a move benefiting the country’s illicit cigarette trade possibly more than public health or consumers, South Africa’s high court ruled that cigarettes and related tobacco products do not fall into the same category as “goods which are life-sustaining or necessary for basic functionality”, and as such upheld the ban against tobacco sales the government enforced as part of lockdown rules to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nattira Medvedeva
Nattira Medvedeva, Associate Editor
The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) challenged the ban saying it led to increased demand for an illicit cigarettes. And, not surprisingly, that’s exactly what happened. South African police revealed that the illicit tobacco trade surged the tobacco ban came into effect. Interestingly, a large part of the smuggling goes through broken sections in South Africa’s very own “big, beautiful fence,” to paraphrase a certain US public figure, between South Africa and Zimbabwe (…but I digress). The 25-mile fence, put up this April as a measure against the pandemic, cost about SAR37 million (US$2.1 million) to construct. There are over 200 illegal entry points from Zimbabwe into South Africa used by enterprising smugglers who seized the opportunity to rake in a ton of money, employing both online and offline marketing tactics to sell their counterfeit goods to a ready market of consumers stripped of the chance to legally obtain their cigarettes.
So far the tobacco ban cost the government SAR300 million in lost taxes. Last year the illicit cigarette trade cost SAR8 billion, according to the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa, and that was without a ban on tobacco sales. Imagine what this year’s lost tax revenue will amount to.
The higher volume in illicit tobacco sales also has a negative effect on public health as the quality of counterfeit tobacco products is questionable. Plus, data from a recent study by University of Cape Town researchers showed that the ban is “failing on what it’s supposed to do.” Study authors Corne van Walbeek, Samantha Filby, and Kirsten van der Zee wrote, “While the original intention of the ban was to support public health, the current disadvantages of the ban may well outweigh the advantages. Smokers are buying cigarettes in large quantities despite the lockdown, and unusual brands are becoming prevalent, “ urging the government to drop the ban as soon as possible.
Walbeek et al also found that most smokers continued to smoke during the lockdown. While 41% of smokers reportedly tried to quit, and 31% did, 12% of these intend to start smoking again as soon as the ban is lifted.
Meanwhile, a hearing for a suit brought by BAT and JTI challenging the same is postponed until August, so it seems that this ban will be around till at least then, if not longer.