The Tobacco Control Bill requires that any enclosed public area is 100% smoke-free, and will make certain outdoor public places smoke-free too, providing protection for many South Africans who are often involuntarily exposed to second-hand smoke. It removes the requirement to provide for smoking areas in all enclosed public places, workplaces and on public conveyances and applies the 100% smoking ban to common areas of multi-unit residences. It further prohibits smoking in private dwellings used for commercial child care or education, and in cars carrying children under 18, rather than under 12.

The Bill introduces uniform plain packaging for all brands and pictorial warnings on all packages. Cigarette advertising at tills and the sale of cigarettes through vending machines will be prohibited. Importantly, the Bill also includes the regulation of e-cigarettes and when passed, e-cigarettes will finally be regulated.

As Andreas Schmidt argues in his paper ‘Is there a human right to tobacco control’, “Tobacco is among the deadliest public health threats worldwide and its health impacts so severe that humans should have a claim against their governments to protect them against the harms of tobacco. If human rights are meant to protect fundamental human interests – and life and health clearly rank among them – we might conclude that individuals should have a human right to be covered by tobacco control, given that tobacco threatens the health and life of so many people.” 

Schmidt further argues how concerns against tobacco control can in fact speak to the need for stronger tobacco control, including claims that tobacco control interferes with freedom of choice, property rights and freedom of expression. If a person’s freedom matters now, their future freedom should also matter, says Schmidt. “If a young person takes up smoking, he/she might develop a strong addiction and, as a result, her future health, life expectancy and expected disposable income will be drastically reduced. As a result, his/her expected future freedom is drastically reduced.” 

Research shows about 7 in 10 people who smoke want to quit and fail to do so. They do not willingly continue to smoke, they are addicted. Policies that prevent initiation of smoking by young people, and that also create quit-friendly environments, safeguard freedom. Tobacco products are marketed in ways that grossly violate consumer rights to be adequately informed of health hazards, and to make choices about risk. The Tobacco Control Bill upholds the right of access to correct information, freedom of choice and stamps out misleading promotion.

Tobacco control could reduce the power tobacco companies have to infringe on the rights of vulnerable populations, such as children, smokers of lower socioeconomic status and citizens in low-income countries. “Human rights legislation might help curb Big Tobacco’s power to shape people’s environments in deleterious ways. Particularly for people living in low-income countries with weaker public health governance – and other vulnerable groups like children – a human rights approach should be empowering,” says Schmidt. 

The participants in the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Cape Town committed to promoting and protecting public health and human rights in relation to the tobacco epidemic, agreeing that the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco are incompatible with the human right to health. 

South Africa, as a signatory to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is in fact obligated to take action. Passing South Africa’s Tobacco Control Bill is a critical step to defend our nation’s right to health and interrelated rights.  

Dr. Sharon Nyatsanza, National Council Against Smoking (NCAS)

(ENDS)

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS AFFECTED BY TOBACCO:

OUR RIGHT TO LIFE: 
Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death globally, in South Africa 42 100 people lose their lives to tobacco caused illnesses each year. The production and marketing and sale of violates basic rights to life and health and a healthy environment.  Tobacco products are the only legally available consumer products that kill over 50% of users when used exactly as intended.

OUR RIGHT TO HEALTH: 
Tobacco use prevents us from achieving the highest attainable standard of health. Human rights principles justify protecting individuals from the harms of smoking and nicotine addiction. We have a right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases. 

Smoking is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases and worsens the outcomes for communicable diseases. Smoking results in more than half of lung cancer deaths, and over 20% of tuberculosis (TB) deaths. As with many lung-related diseases, tobacco use increases the risk of contracting tuberculosis and impairs patients’ response to treatment. Current evidence shows that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) negatively affects people with a history of smoking. 

THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN:   
The dangers posed by second-hand smoke violate the rights of non-smokers especially children, affecting their rights to life, health and a clean and safe environment. Exposure to second-hand smoke, particularly for children, leads to middle ear infections, respiratory diseases including asthma, the worsening of serious conditions such as cystic fibrosis and asthma, and in some cases, death.

Many adolescents are tempted into experimentation with cigarette smoking, and now e-cigarettes, at a fragile time when they can’t fully grasp the addictive grip of nicotine and the health impacts they will later experience. The body of research showing the health harm arising from e-cigarette use, which are popular among young people, continues to expand. Implementing appropriate graphic health warnings and restrictions to stop marketing tactics directed at children is important in promoting child rights.

Tobacco use also impacts children’s rights to education, as money spent on tobacco can be spent on education and other needs. In developing countries we also see child labour in tobacco production which denies children an education.

OUR RIGHT TO HEALTHY WORK CONDITIONS: 
Smoking at work impacts the health of all. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke and it is important to remember that the only way to protect people from the health risks associated with exposure to second-hand smoke is to have 100% smoke free workplaces and indoor public areas. Engineering approaches such as ventilation or air cleaning technologies can not be relied upon to reduce the health risks.

OUR RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT: 

Cigarette smoking causes environmental pollution by releasing toxic air pollutants into the atmosphere. The entire production and consumption process of cigarettes has many negative impacts on the environment, from growing and manufacturing to smoke and litter. Toxic chemicals in the residues seep into soils and waterways. 

(ENDS) 

@protectournext
www.protectournext.co.za

RESOURCES:

Call the National Council Against Smoking - Quitline at 011 720 3145 for tips to help you stop smoking. www.againstsmoking.co.za

CANSA runs an online programme which also provides support and information for smokers who would like to stop smoking on http://www.ekickbutt.org.za/.

Available for interview:

Sharon Nyatsanza (PhD), Project & Communications Manager, NCAS
Dr Catherine Egbe, Specialist Scientist: Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council
Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa
Lorraine Govender, National Advocacy Co-Ordinator, CANSA