South Africa Cabinet Approves Tobacco Control Bill

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

CABINET APPROVES TOBACCO CONTROL BILL 
CAPE TOWN July 29 1998 (South African Press Association)

     Cabinet on Wednesday unanimously approved draft legislation that will
allow the minister of health to ban
     smoking in the workplace and prohibit all tobacco advertising,
including promotion through sponsorships. 

     Health Minister Dr Nkosazana Zuma told a media briefing after the
Cabinet meeting that the government was not
     criminalising smoking, and said she did not believe the restrictions
would negatively affect sport development. 

     "We think that sports should not be associated with smoking because
there is no association between good
     sports people and smoking," she said. 

     The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill will allow her, by notice
in the Government Gazette, to ban
     smoking in any public place - the definition of which includes a
workplace - on pain of a R200 fine. 

     It will end all tobacco advertising, including the use of logos and
brand or company names, and the use of logos
     or names "for the purpose of advertising any organisation service,
activity or event". Offenders will face a
     R200,000 fine. 

     No manufacturer, importer, distributor or retailer of tobacco products
will be allowed to finance, organise, or
     promote an organised activity that involves the use of a tobacco trade
mark, logo, brand or company name. 

     Shops will, however, be allowed to put up signs at point of sale
indicating that tobacco products are available
     there. 

     The bill, which has already run into opposition from the tobacco
industry, gives Zuma the power for the first time
     to decide on permissible tar and nicotine levels in tobacco products. 

     It bans free distribution or unusual discounting of tobacco products,
and limits cigarette vending machines to
     premises inaccessible to children under 16, at risk of a R10,000 fine. 

     The bill proposes adding a preamble to existing tobacco control
legislation, saying the health effects of smoking
     required strong action to deter people from taking it up, and to
encourage existing smokers to quit. 

     The preamble also says that as smoking is widely accepted, it is
inappropriate to ban it completely. 

     Zuma said the amendments aimed to protect children from being bombarded
with tobacco smoke or messages
     that smoking was a good habit, and to guard non-smokers from
second-hand smoke. 

     She said the prohibition on sponsorships would be phased in. Her
department had held extensive discussions on
     the bill with Sport Minister Steve Tshwete "and that's why it was
unanimous in Cabinet", she said. 

     Transport Minister Mac Maharaj, an inveterate smoker who happened to be
at the post-Cabinet briefing with
     Zuma, said when asked about the bill that he was "a loyal disciplined
member of Cabinet, and Cabinet has
     unanimously decided this matter". 

     "In fact I have a long criminal background which must also be taken
into account," he added with a grin. 

                                
source: http://www.anc.org.za/anc/newsbrief/1998/news0730 
processed Thu 30 Jul 1998 06:04 EDT by Omar C. Jadwat (newswire@bibim.com). 

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