Level four of lockdown feels like playing a video game as smokers need to complete yet another level before cigarettes and tobacco products will be legal to purchase again.
Did this u-turn on the decision of selling tobacco products make every smoker a criminal?
WITBANK NEWS earlier reported on the illegal selling of tobacco products and how easy but terrifying it is to find your next cigarette.
“Although it was easy enough to get hold of cigarettes, the price was exorbitantly high and in addition to ‘fake’ cigarettes,” as the man refers to it.
The cost of popular brands is between R60 to R80 per pack of 20 cigarettes, but a smoker can get a discount of R50 if you are willing to buy a whole carton of 10 packs.
The u-turn comes after government received over 2 000 submissions from the public opposing the sale of tobacco products, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on April 29.
The main reason and concern for the extended ban on tobacco products from the minister were that, “when people ‘zol’ they put saliva on the paper…” not even mentioning the impact this decision has on South Africa’s Economy as the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has said that the ban on alcohol and cigarettes during lockdown is costing the economy over R1.5 billion in lost revenue.
As for all smokers, this absurd ban made most of them deal in illegal cigarettes and trading as smugglers in the open and even on social media.
Mostly it is smokers who inform one another if they know anyone selling. During the first week of lockdown, a pack of cigarettes cost between R60 and R80 as reported but on level four, the price hike just became ridiculous.
A new scam also came to light when WITBANK NEWS made contact with one of the cigarette ‘contacts’.
The person told the newspaper about scammers that would advertise that they are selling cigarettes and that they will deliver after payment but when the smoker makes an EFT the seller blocks the buyer on all platforms and vanishes quicker than you could smoke a cigarette.
The police urged the public to phone Witbank Police Station radio control on 0136555052 or the National Crime stop number on 0860010111 if they have positive information on suspects who are selling cigarettes or alcohol.
READ MORE
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/157374/booming-illegal-cigarette-trade-puts-all-at-risk-of-covid-19/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/157381/uitgebuit-deur-desperaatheid-vir-n-sigaret/
