E-cigarettes first emerged in the US in 2007 and have continued to evolve, with the new generation products featuring sleek, high-tech designs. These products have seen large uptake by the youth and have resulted in skyrocketing youth addiction to nicotine. Data reveals about one in five high school students in the US used e-cigarettes in 2020, many of whom were not smokers in the first place. South Africa’s health experts forming part of the #protectournext movement are sounding the alarm, concerned that this ‘e-cigarette epidemic’ will soon take hold in South Africa if e-cigarettes are not better regulated.
Research on e-cigarettes conducted by prominent public health researchers has emphasised the need to speedily pass the Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill (2018) into law. Two years have passed since the Bill closed for public comments in August 2018, during which time the e-cigarette industry, currently largely unregulated, has further taken hold in South Africa. Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, director of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM) at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), says the research results support an urgent need for a regulated environment in order to better protect our youth from the health harms of e-cigarette addiction.
Protect Our Next
Tweets by National Council Against Smoking
Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that in South Africa (SA) alone, smoking results in more than half of lung cancer deaths, 37% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths, and over 20% of cardiovascular deaths and tuberculosis (TB) deaths. Smoking-related TB deaths are especially prevalent in South Africa, due to a higher vulnerability of HIV-positive individuals to TB. Because it attacks the lungs, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) could be an especially serious threat to those who smoke or vape.
The new Control of Tobacco and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill will make it easier for South Africans to choose smoke-free lives, regulate the danger of e-cigarettes and decrease the impact of second-hand smoke on the majority of the population, who are non-smokers. Why is taking time to implement? Tobacco industry profits are at the expense of addicted smokers, their families, and public health. Together, the National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa are steadfast in campaigning for the new Bill to be passed. It’s time for our people and our government to show leadership in implementing global best practice to curb the onslaught of big tobacco.
Zanele Mthembu, Public Health Development and Policy Consultant
Savera Kalideen, Executive Director of the National Council Against Smoking
Sharon Nyatsanza, Project and Communications Manager, National Council Against Smoking
Lorraine Govender, National Advocacy Co-Ordinator, Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)
Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa
Dr Catherine Egbe, Specialist Scientist: Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council
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