Tobacco Industry Fights New South African Laws (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Business Day (South Africa)
                                                25 August 1998 
                Industry fights
                nonsmoking law 

                Vuyo Mvoko

                CAPE TOWN - The tobacco industry has asked the
                high court to instruct Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma
                to hand over to the industry all the information her
                department took into account when drafting the Tobacco
                Products Control Amendment Bill.

                The urgent court application, filed on Thursday and
                scheduled for a hearing today, was only the beginning of
                a fight the industry intended putting up against
                government over the bill, sources said.

                The bill, which has raised the ire of the industry and is
                going through Parliament, seeks to ban smoking and
                tobacco advertising in public places.

                Health ministry spokesman Vincent Hlongwane
                confirmed yesterday that court papers had been served
                on Zuma to appear before the Cape High Court today. 

                He would not, however, say what the minister intended
                to do.

                Sources said the tobacco industry based its application
                on the provisions of the constitution.

                In particular it relied on sections dealing with the public's
                right of access to government information; public
                participation in policy making; democratic governance to
                ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness; and
                the bill of rights.

                Excluded

                The industry believed that it was "deliberately excluded"
                from processes leading to the minister's introduction of
                the law, while stakeholders opposed to tobacco "were
                allowed full access".

                The bill was not entirely open to public scrutiny and
                participation, an industry source said.

                For this reason, whatever facts Zuma had at her disposal
                had to be "interrogated".

                The deadline for comment from people who have not
                had the opportunity to do so is August 31. 

                The industry wanted an extension of the deadline, but
                once its court application had been dealt with.

                The Freedom of Commercial Speech Trust, which
                represents the media, marketing and advertising
                industries, warned last week that the bill contained
                drafting weaknesses that opened it to legal challenges.

                The executive director of the trust, Piet Delport,
                proposed that the bill "be withdrawn on the basis that its
                drafting is faulty and that proper consultation with all
                interested parties should take place before any further
                proposed legislation is tabled".

                Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa representative
                Edward Shalala and Rothmans International's Abrie du
                Plessis preferred not to comment on the matter
                yesterday, saying the issue was now "sub judice".