9 May 2008
editorial
Johannesburg — TOBACCO presents the government with a conundrum. On one hand, products such as cigarettes and cigars are legitimate, and the tobacco giants are corporate citizens who create jobs, pay their taxes, support social responsibility programmes and contribute in no small measure to the fiscus. But offsetting these benefits is the simple fact that tobacco kills.
Tobacco accounts for 8,5%, or about one in 12 deaths, according to the Medical Research Council. Since the constitution guarantees the right to health, the government has a duty to protect its citizens from the damage wrought by smoking. Much as the health department might like to regulate the industry out of existence, it knows that tobacco is addictive: if legitimate companies can't sell the stuff, people will turn to illegal means to get their fix.
The tobacco control measures introduced by the health department in 1993 and 1999 are one of that department's few outright success stories. Our public spaces are largely smoke-free zones, tobacco advertising is virtually a thing of the past and the public health benefits are clear: total tobacco consumption in SA fell 33% between 1993 and 2003, according to research published in the South African Medical Journal.
The department is now trying to close loopholes in the antitobacco laws that some of the tobacco giants have cleverly exploited, and step up the penalties for noncompliance. With the notable exception of Philip Morris, the tobacco giants are now crying foul of the consultation process, and are trying to pressure Parliament into sending the draft Tobacco Control Products Amendment Bill back to the health department for more industry input.
These are the same companies that have cleverly circumvented the spirit of the existing law's attempt to limit the number of new nicotine addicts by throwing glamorous smoking parties and devising clever SMS viral marketing campaigns. But just because the health department doesn't agree with their criticism doesn't mean they weren't consulted.
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