The new smoking law in South Africa

According the World Health Organisation (WHO) tobacco kills half of those who use it and it estimates that about 700 million children or almost half of the world's children inhale air polluted by tobacco smoke.

The new South Africans laws strengthen existing legislation on smoking in public places, regulating the manufacture of tobacco products, the marketing of tobacco products to avoid making cigarettes appealing and require new pictorial health warnings on tobacco packets.

Some changes in the law with immediate effect, include:

    * An increase in the fines for smoking or allowing smoking in a non-smoking area. The fine for the owner of a restaurant, pub, bar and workplace that breaks the smoking laws is now a maximum of R50 000, and for the individual smoker R500.

    * No smoking in 'partially enclosed' public places, such as covered patios, verandas, balconies, walkways and parking areas.
    * No smoking within 5 metres from all entrances.

    * Young children will be better protected from the harms of second hand smoke, like asthma, wheezing, or bronchitis:

Adults may not smoke in a car when a passenger under 12 years is present.

Smoking is not allowed in premises (including private homes) used for commercial childcare activities, or for schooling or tutoring.

No person under 18 may be allowed into a designated smoking area. The practice of parents taking babies into smoking areas of restaurants is outlawed.

    * The tobacco industry can no longer hold 'parties' or use 'viral' marketing to target young people. Although tobacco advertising was banned in 2000, the cigarette companies found other ways to promote cigarettes. It used the Internet, SMS and '"buzz" or "viral" marketing to get its messages to teenagers. In viral marketing, cigarette company reps go with a trunk-full of cigarettes to clubs, discos, coffee bars, college campuses and invite teens to parties, pop concerts or a major sporting event, at which they are lured into smoking.

    * The sale of tobacco products to and by persons under the age of 18 years is prohibited, as is the sale of confectionary or toys that resemble tobacco products.

    * Cigarette vending machines must sell tobacco products exclusively and cannot be used to sell other products like crisps and chocolates. The vending machines can only be located in areas to which minors do not have access.

Further changes in the law will come into effect later this year, because the Ministry of Health is still finalising regulations. These include:

    * The use of picture-based health warnings on tobacco packaging. This will provide customers with truthful and vivid information about the harms of tobacco use in a way they can understand.

    * Pollution from tobacco smoke will be further reduced by restricting smoking in certain outdoor areas. Smoking will be moved away from entrances to buildings and smoking will be restricted in sports stadia, railway platforms, bus stops and al fresco dining areas. This means smoking at football, cricket, rugby and other sports stadiums will be regulated.

    * The introduction of cigarettes which self-extinguish, thereby reducing the risk of fires. Cigarettes cause about 5% of all fires in South Africa.

    * The terms 'low-tar', 'light' and 'mild' will be prohibited. Such labels suggest that 'light' cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes, when they are not. Smokers who switch from 'regular' to 'light' cigarettes do not reduce their intake of tar or nicotine, or the risk of disease.

    * Regulate the chemicals that can be added to tobacco products and require tobacco manufacturers to disclose the harmful additives used in the manufacturing process.

The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) has welcomed the new legislation as one that "will have dramatic, important and far-reaching effects on public health and the tobacco industry's marketing activities."

NCAS director Dr Yussuf Saloojee said only 22% of South Africans smoked while four out of five people (78% adults) did not smoke and did not want to be exposed to tobacco smoke in public places.

"Smoking remains a leading cause of premature, preventable death in South Africa. Tobacco kills 44 000 South Africans every year (three times more than motor car accidents). Our efforts to reduce the death toll will be helped by the new legislation," said Dr Saloojee.

Other important efforts are being made by one local company that has introduced a much needed outdoor ashtray solution.

Second-Hand Smoking - Smoking Law Change in South Africa

Imagine yourself in your home in South Africa. It is a quiet moment, as you relax in front of the TV, or maybe you are in your garden enjoying the sunshine. Birds are singing in the trees, the sky is blue, you have earned a well-deserved time off and you feel good.

All of a sudden, you are ambushed. Two heroin addicts have broken into your home and are pinning you down. You cannot move. One is preparing a hypodermic needle. You instinctively know it has heroin in it and you want to scream "No!" but you are held down and silenced and there is nothing you can do but watch as the needle sinks into your vein and you feel the drug in your blood, along with whatever impurities were added to it. The heroin addicts saunter away, smirking at you, for even trying to stop this assault.

The next day, your body goes through a terrible reaction to the after-effects of this toxic injection. You become ill and have to take time off work. And just as you thought it was safe, the heroin addicts break into your home, one pins you down, and the other is holding a syringe and smirking at you. You know what is going to happen next and you are powerless to stop it...

Imagine this happening every day in your own home. Imagine that you now have to keep all your windows closed at all times, keep your eye on the lock, and be careful all the time. And then, when you think you are safe to go out to work or the shops, all of a sudden, you are ambushed again. You recognize the heroin addicts. Only this time there are four of them, you see the needle, you see them smirking at you, and you feel sick to your stomach knowing what is about to happen to you...

It is really awful, is it not? But if you are a smoker smoking illegally, then you are that addict. You are forcing your neighbour to take a drug that they choose not to take. You are forcing them to take this drug into their bloodstream whether they like it or not. If your workplace is near someone's home and you force them to smoke when you do, you are just like those heroin-injecting thugs in this story. It is one thing being an addict, and of course, the addiction is just that - something one cannot help. However, the law is now here to stop you from forcing innocent people to take your drug in their bloodstream.

Not convinced? Here are some facts that you may be interested in...

    * The owner of a workplace, including pub, bar, restaurant, beauty salon, hairdresser, or any other workplace can be fined up to R50,000 if their premises breach the smoking laws.
    * Not only can the owner of this establishment be fined, but you personally can be fined R500 for smoking in a non-smoking zone.
    * Non-smoking zones include partially enclosed public places such as covered patios (such as by a roof or awnings), verandas, balconies, walkways, lifts, and parking areas.You can face up to your addiction and do something about it. Quitting may be much easier than you think.

Everyone should have the right to choose and the right to freedom. Nobody is taking away a smoker's addiction. That is a smoker's right. It was my right too when I was a smoker, and I know from experience how I just could not cope without nicotine. I would not suggest taking away an addict's drug; that is their choice, and that choice must be respected. I have been there myself. However, now it is now law that smokers must not take their drug in forms that are harmful to others in public places. And that also must be respected.