BAT now accepting orders for cigarettes in hopes ban will end soon

South Africa’s biggest cigarette company, British American Tobacco, has started accepting “holding orders” from its customers, according to a statement given to Business Insider South Africa.

The company says it is not actually selling cigarettes and is not yet invoicing on the orders it takes.

“No deliveries will be made until the sale of tobacco products is allowed. The date for delivery will depend on when the ban is lifted,” said BAT external affairs head Johnny Moloto.

The publication quotes some shop owners as speculating that cigarettes could be on the shelves as soon as 1 July.

BAT said it was preparing itself “to be in a position to better serve its customers and consumers once allowed”.

Many outlets say they expect a rush on supplies once the ban is lifted.

South Africa’s ban on the sale of tobacco came with the Covid-19 lockdown. It has been in place for three months now, and the vast majority of smokers are believed to have run out of legally-acquired cigarettes.

Determined smokers have been subsisting on illegally acquired cigarettes.

Currently, there is a case ongoing in the high court challenging the rationality of the cigarette ban, with government still claiming cigarettes can make Covid-19 symptoms worse.

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