Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

Is vaping a potential killer or a useful aid? Different South African points of view

This article by Marika Sboros in Business Day compares the points of view of South African health professionals: Pamela Naidoo, Derek Yach and Richard Van Zyl Smit .

Illicit cigarette brand top seller in South Africa

South Africa has become the first country in the world with an illegal cigarette brand as a top seller! Illegal cigarettes are preferred for their low prices in South Africa, with the cigarette brand RG retailing at the lowest price of 10 Rand. RG has overtaken all legal brands including the preffered cigarette brand in the country Peter Stuyvesant, giving South Africa the dubious honor of being the first country in the world with an illegal cigarette brand as its top seller.

Tobacco taxation workshop in Cape Town

The GCRF Tobacco Control Capacity Programme has held a one week workshop of expert sessions to support research fellows with their tobacco control taxation plans. Among topics discussed were illicit trade and tobacco taxation, in line with the framework convention on tobacco control guidelines.

To establish a Centre of Excellence for tobacco industry monitoring in South Africa and more: $78,160

Visiting CTFK's site devoted to their funding, this is the only project I found for 2016, as of today.

Establishing Tobacco Control Policy and Tobacco Industry Monitoring (TIM) Centre at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (located in Pretoria)
To establish a Centre of Excellence for tobacco industry monitoring in South Africa;
To create a web-based information platform for in-country actors to use in policy advocacy against tobacco industry interference;
to develop a framework to monitor and evaluate tobacco control policies across Africa in accordance with the WHO FCTC.
Country: South Africa
Website: http://www.smu.ac.za
Focus: Tobacco Control Policy (general)
Approach: Industry monitoring
Amount: $78,160
Start Date: May 2016
End Date: Apr 2017

Another useless (but costly) trip

Visiting the blog of the American Cancer Society I find this pathetically and shockingly empty post (without forgetting to thank the funder of such useless trips). The example of what should stop. There is zero information about what the eventual contribution of Lekan O.A. Ayo-Yusuf has been. 

Will South Africa adopt plain packaging?

Would such a move result in an international legal dispute?

South Africa: Smokers have their own royal tent during ANC national conference

From News 24 this description of a tent for smokers sponsored by BATSA.

Tobacco companies see Africa as a fertile ground

An article just published in the Los Angeles Times. Robyn Dixon interviews a few tobacco control advocates from South Africa and describes how trendy smoking is for young males and how easy and cheap it is to buy one stick.

South Africa: Tobacco smoke pollution in the non-smoking section fo restaurants in Pretoria

This is a letter published in Tobacco Control Journal but unfortunately you have to subscribe to read the whole content. Still worth mentioning.

Interesting article about BAT's practices in South Africa and Nigeria

Browsing away I visited the excellent tobacco.org site and while searching for news about Africa I found this very interesting article by Ogala Emmanuel published on Premium Times. One part of the story is about the way BAT switches from traditional advertising (on billboards etc) to more subtle promotional practices, like offering cigarettes in many public places, "just so adult customers can test our brands". A classic move that is used globally and is more difficult to combat than illegal traditional ads and is probably more dangerous.

South Africa: The National Council Against Smoking has a new website

Click here.

South Africa: National Council Against Smoking awarded two grants by the Bloomberg Initiative

The National Council Against Smoking in South Africa has been awarded in May 2010 two 2 year grants (May 2010 to April 2012) by the Bloomberg Initiative for total of $495.722. They aim to promote "policy advocacy for effective tobacco tax and regulatory regimes".

Source: Bloomberg Initiative/What we fund

Newly discovered IDRC tobacco control projects: CAD 150K for Rapid Response Fund for Opportunities to Advance Tobacco Control

Here is a grant that had not been previously publicly advertised although it's stated starting date is September 24, 2009 (duration 36 months). It is not clear how much goes  eventually to IDRC itself and how much goes to the recipient. Why was the University of Cape Town chosen?  Was the funding from the Gates Foundation grant? The amount is CAD 150K. Kathy Murphy-Everett is a senior researcher with Cape Town University. A study she managed about helping pregnant mothers to quit was apparently funded by IDRC in 2005. We have not been able -yet- to contact her. After a closer look it seems this grant is not part of the ATSA program so its funding did not come from the Gates grant. It remains interesting to know more about it.

South Africa: The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) urges finance minister Pravin Gordhan to review tobacco tax rates

Source: AllAfrica

South Africa: new tobacco control measures enacted

South Africa has strengthened the current anti-smoking legislation with new regulations which limit outdoor smoking, protect children and reduce the chances of fires caused by burning cigarettes.

Source: E-Health

A report about illicit tobacco trade in South Africa contends industry is wrong: no link between higher taxes and illicit trade

A paper by South African economist Evan Blecher, now with the American Cancer Society, shows that by 2007, illicit trade accounted for up to seven per cent of the total market in South Africa.

However, the evidence shows that tobacco control policy has been successful and only partially undermined by illicit trade; consumption of tobacco products has continued declining while tax revenue has risen, thanks to sharply higher excise taxes.

The full report on pdf format (26 pages) 

Source: FCA Bulletin number 94, page 4 (pdf format)

South Africa: Companies are required by law to have a dedicated 'smoking room'

Ricly Mpntalbano explains why it is in fact illegal to smoke in any place other than in a designated smoking area according to The Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act No 83 of 1993.
Source: IOL

RDC, Rwanda, South Africa: Mastermind Tobacco CEO accused of evading taxes and financing the war

Several sources, including the latest UN report on the war in the DRC on 10 December 2008 (S/2008/773) have provided evidence that Mastermind CEO, Tribert Ayabatwa Rujiguro has been in touch with rebels involved in the war in DRC.

In all reports, the president of the Master Mind Group, of which Congo Tobacco Company (CTC), based in Goma (East of DRC) and producer of cigarettes Super Match is a subsidiary, is named.

Following a complaint by the authorities of South Africa, the president of the industry that produces the Super Match cigarette in Goma, was arrested in early November in London on the basis of an arrest warrant for "tax evasion" issued by South Africa.

If the judicial procedure followed its normal course, he should be extradited to South Africa to stand trial.
The South Africans would have seized as a precaution a few valuable assets belonging to Master Mind, including an aircraft, houses, vehicles and cash in cash with a value of 58 million rands.

Referring to the Master Mind Group, the Ugandan weekly "The East African" noted in its issue on 5 December 2005 through the "Industry moves to stub out illicit cigarette trade," that this group is the subject of a thorough investigation by Interpol because the manufacturer is considered as the most involved in the fraud that exists in the DRC, Kenya and Uganda.

According to information from Bandundu,one of 11 province of DRC, for more than three years, the company has used false statements of the provincial tax by falsifying documents and declaring in sales and receptions Super Match cigarettes in the province of Bandundu. Worse, it would pay its way or not to pay the provincial tax altogether. According to the governorate of Bandundu, which has in its sights CTC, it has never paid even 10% of what it owed to the province. That, at least, gives a total minimum of U.S. $ 157,000 (One hundred fifty-seven thousand dollars U.S.) as a loss to the province over a period of three years. This, in turn, enabled him to make a huge profit, and maintain prices at the stem of his cigarette to 10 Congolese Franc from 2003 to 2007 despite all the fluctuations in that country (U.S. $ 1 was equal 500 Congolese Francs in 2007).

South Africa: About the new Tobacco Control Act

A presentation posted on the site of the Cancer Association of South Africa:

Tobacco smoking is killing almost 50 000 South Africans a year, placing a huge burden on the already overloaded healthcare system and volatile economy. So what is being done to curb what are essentially preventable deaths?

South Africa: BAT uses SMS (text messaging) to promote Dunhill cigarettes

Tobacco control advocates have protested against this marketing initiative that they consider against the law.
Source: The Star (Johannesburg)

Recent examples of smuggling between Namibia and South Africa

A truck full of cigarettes instead of waste paper. Cigarettes behind bags of charcoal and maybe the source in Zimbabwe where BAT has a factory.

Twisp: electronic "cigarette" launched in South Africa

Twisp is called an e-cigarette. It has been launched in South Africa as a "harm reduction" product. It is basically a nicotine delivery product without tobacco. The distributor says it helped him quit but it is not registered as a cessation device.

Read the controversy in The Times

World No Tobacco Day 2008: Pr Harry Seftel of South Africa

Pr. Harry Seftel has been actively involved in establishing the South African Council Against Smoking since 1976 and was the Chairperson ever since for 32 years continuously.  During this time he was campaigning against Smoking on Radio Talk shows, Television shows giving information on the hazards of smoking and the benefits of stopping. 

He is the recipient of the special Director General Award.

South Africa's new tobacco control bill to come

A report about the meeting that took place in Johannesburg

Source: the Star on line edition.

Effects of the Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act of 1999 on restaurant revenues in South Africa--a survey approach

This study shows no significant negative impact on restaurants in South Africa after the eanctment of the smoking ban.

South Africa: Taxes Not Laws Stamp Out Smoking

Despite all the sound and fury surrounding tough new legislation on smoking, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has emerged as the unlikely hero of the drive to reduce smoking in SA.

Public hearings have so far focused on the prohibition of tobacco advertising, tough new rules that will further restrict where people may smoke and a call for further restrictions on the industry.

South Africa: Smoking Laws Have Tobacco Industry Gasping

Tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) had told Parliament that a measure of the success of SA's anti-smoking laws was that the past 15 years had been difficult for the company, BAT CEO David Crow said yesterday.

South Africa: Snuff Out the Smokers

Government moves to close loopholes in anti-smoking legislation and raise fines are commendable and in the public interest. But the big test is whether enforcement of the regulations will be any better than is currently the case.