Chantelle Benjamin
3 January 2008
Johannesburg — AS COUNTRIES around the world clamp down on public smoking -- Germany and France are the latest -- there are opportunities for cashing in on the niche smoking market.
SA, where bans on smoking in certain public places such as cinemas have been in place for 14 years, is ironically one of the countries least in favour of smoking bans, according to a recent survey. This is despite only 26% of South Africans regarding themselves as regular smokers, compared with 30% worldwide.
A survey by Synovate found South Africans were also not too concerned about smoking in public establishments, as long as there was adequate ventilation or designated smoking spaces .
The survey found that 17% of respondents from 15 countries said they would pay extra to fly on an airline that allows smoking, with respondents from Slovakia (52%), Taiwan (28%) and Korea (20%) most likely to do so.
Harder to recruit would be passengers from Italy (6%), Singapore (6%) and the United Arab Emirates (9%).
This untapped market prompted German entrepreneur Alexander Schoppmann to establish the world's first airline for smokers, Sminair, which is to launch this year.
It is aimed at business travellers who do not want to give up cigarettes on the 12-hour flight between Germany and Japan.
Two similar attempts in the US did not get off the ground. The Great American Smokers' Club, a members-only charter airline that planned to fly between Dallas and Houston, failed to get a licence from the Federal Aviation Administration despite having more than 6000 members. The Florida-based Smokers Express failed to obtain enough financing.
In France, where a quarter of the population smokes, a smoking ban at workplaces, schools, hospitals and shops has been extended to bars and bistros. French café and restaurant owners are up in arms. They argue that banning smoking is tantamount to an attack on the French lifestyle and are concerned that patrons will vote with their feet.
Loss of income has not been a problem for restaurants in SA, according to a recent survey by the South African Medical Journal . At least 59% of 736 restaurants surveyed reported no change in revenue, while 22% reported an increase in revenue.
The new Tobacco Products Control Amendment Bill, expected to be signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki early this year, makes it illegal to smoke in a car with a child under 12, or to take a child under 18 into the smoking area of a restaurant or pub.
Smoking will be forbidden in homes that offer commercial services for children and will be banned in sports stadiums, partly enclosed public spaces such as restaurant patios, in minibus taxis, trains and passenger ships and boats. The fine for restaurants, pubs and workplaces that allow smoking outside approved areas will be increased from R200 to a maximum of R50000.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
