Government must put up, or shut up about tobacco

The fight against the ban on the sale of tobacco products by government is far from over.

Smokers are up in arms after President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed on Sunday that the ban on cigarettes will continue under alert level 3. At the same time, he said alcohol sales would be allowed from Monday. Smokers have not been able to buy cigarettes since the country entered lockdown in March, driving many to the black market.

British American Tobacco SA have had enough, saying it was “commencing urgent legal proceedings to challenge the government’s decision to extend the ban on tobacco sales during Level 3”. It said government had betrayed its trust and “it’s very difficult to believe anything we hear from government now”.

Government’s defence is that it needed to safeguard public health, insisting cigarette smokers are far more at risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms than those who don’t smoke. It has yet to provide any details as to what evidence it bases this on.

While fighting court battles is far from ideal when there are far greater issues at play, this needs to come to a head. Government must either put up by proving the ban is rational, or shut up and allow the sale of tobacco products.

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