The proposed Tobacco bill will kill small businesses and jobs, but not stop smoking, according to a survey conducted by Clippa Sales.
The survey was conducted on more than 200 specialist tobacconists in South Africa, representing 1769 stores that directly employ a collective of 3 194 people.
The respondents have indicated an opposition to the new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, recently introduced into Parliament.
Clippa Sales describes itself as a distributor, throughout Southern Africa, for world-class brands from across the world.
The survey comes at a time when the Parliament’s portfolio committee on health invited public comments on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill.
The bill includes a complete ban on the display of all tobacco and related products across all retail channels, even in specialist tobacco stores, and has sparked concerns among small business owners and employees in the sector.
"In the case of specialist tobacconists, it’s in most cases the only product they sell. The ban includes the display of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vapes, hookah pipes, and heat-not-burn devices," the report said.
According to the survey, 98% of respondents, all small businesses operating across the country, disagreed with the display ban, with 99.5% saying it would severely impact their business, threaten their sustainability and place thousands of jobs at risk. 75% said the bill will criminalise hard-working legal businesses, while 86% said it would damage the lives of employees who depend on small businesses, especially in these exceptionally tough economic times.
The specialist tobacconists said that it is imperative that they were exempted from the ban, as has been the case in other countries.
Clippa Sales director Alex Jacovides said: “While the Tobacco Bill creates significant trouble for all tobacco products retailers, it is clear from the research into specialist tobacconists that proposing a total ban on display, in most cases, the only products that they sell in their stores is an existential risk to their businesses. These are legal products that are only sold, by law, to those over the age of 18.
“Bans don’t work. The government should have learnt this hard lesson during the Covid-19 tobacco ban, but obviously, it didn’t. People under the age of 18 don’t shop at specialist tobacconists, where the age limit is already strictly enforced. What is required is education and enforcement of the current laws, not another blunt legislative instrument.”
Some 96% of respondents believed the display ban would have the same impact as the Covid-19 tobacco ban, which led to a massive increase in the sales of illicit tobacco products.
"Eighty-percent said the display ban would further entrench the illicit tobacco market," the report found.
Casa Tabacs owner Diane Bravo said: “The illicit trade’s market share currently stands at around 60% of the total tobacco market in South Africa. While it was high prior to Covid-19, the tobacco ban served to significantly increase illicit trade’s market share, to the point where it now far exceeds that of legal tobacco companies.
"This alone should show that bans lead to unintended consequences. In this case, the ban will damage legal businesses while opening the floodgates for illicit traders," she said.
Vaper's Corner general manager Craig Pieterson said: "As an industry, we have always welcomed regulation because we care about our customers and other citizens.
"However, the regulations proposed in this bill and the impacts they will have on citizens and the sector have not been carefully considered; It’s our duty as citizens and as an industry to come together and let the government know how this bill will negatively affect our health and our livelihoods.“
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