Still unregulated, e-cigarette products are patently marketed to South African children and easily accessible. In shopping malls, colourful e-cigarette kiosks are in plain sight. Sleek designs and thousands of youth-friendly flavours increase product appeal and create a perception that these products are safe, fuelling youth e-cigarette uptake. 

Advertising, use of attractive flavours, influencers and point-of-sale marketing that appeals to youth are well-known tactics that have been employed by tobacco companies to attract a young market and find “replacement” smokers to maintain their market share and profits – creating another generation addicted to nicotine. While restrictions on these marketing avenues have been imposed on tobacco products, the introduction of e-cigarettes or vape products threatens to undo this progress, says Dr Sharon Nyatsanza, Deputy of the National Council against Smoking (NCAS). 

Placing children at the centre of conversations on better regulation of these novel products is critical for public health, argue the Protect our Next partners, a coalition of South Africa’s leading health organisations including NCAS.  

Protect our Next advocacy organisations have launched a campaign calling for Big Tobacco to clean up its mess this World No Tobacco Day 31 May called ‘Susa Udoti Wakho - #yourbuttsstink’.  The 2022 World Health Organisation (WHO) theme - “Tobacco: Threat to our environment” - focuses on the damaging impact tobacco has on the planet throughout its lifecycle, including deforestation, erosion, water pollution and biodiversity damage through to the disposal of manufacturing waste and littering of cigarette butts. 

“We support the WHO message and our local campaign aims to raise awareness among the public on the polluting and damaging environmental impact of tobacco in South Africa –  including cultivation, production, distribution and waste. It gives tobacco users yet another reason to quit,”  says Dr. Sharon Nyatsanza, Deputy Director of the National Council Against Smoking. 

The African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) has joined South Africa’s public health organisations in calling for urgent regulation of e-cigarettes through the swift implementation of the long-awaited Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, saying the Bill could have an impact well beyond South Africa’s borders.  

Leonce Sessou, Executive Secretary of ATCA, says “Global evidence reveals that e-cigs may create a new generation of young nicotine addicts and undermine progress in reducing tobacco use nicotine addiction. South Africa’s response to this new public health threat will serve as an example of how other African countries could regulate e-cigarettes. Protecting Africa’s youth from nicotine addiction and possible subsequent lifelong tobacco use will promote the health, society and economy of Africa.” 

This Saturday, 30 October, the Mamelodi community will march from Stanza Bopape Sports Complex to Matimba Library Hall as they pledge to #Switchofftobacco in Mams. Local community leaders, school principals and teams from the Department of Environmental Health (DoEH) are joining forces with Protect our Next, a partnership of South Africa’s health organisations, to collect tobacco litter en route, which local learners will use to create larger than life tobacco education murals at their schools. 

The march will be followed by an event featuring community members, school principals, Protect our Next ambassadors, youth advocacy groups Youth with Passion, Ikamva Youth and the South African Tobacco Free Youth Forum (SATFYF), Pastor Pieter from the Royal Eagles Ministry at Silverton.  Successful quitter Nicholas Mokena will share his quit story. The programme incorporates dance, music and theatre featuring local company 6N9 Production.