Johannesburg - The Fair Independent Tobacco Association has filed court papers at the Pretoria High Court to appeal the ruling which dismissed their application to have the ban on the sale of tobacco products during the national lockdown declared unlawful.
Fita is appealing the judgment on all grounds including the cost order. It wants to be allowed to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal. It says the appeal is of public interest and has prospects of success.
Last week, the High Court issued its long-awaited judgment on the tobacco matter. The court found against Fita and said the government was justified in banning the sale of tobacco products under the national lockdown.
The case was heard by a full bench of the Pretoria High Court in June.
The government also faces a court challenge from the British American Tobaccco South Africa over the cigarette and tobacco sales ban to be heard by the Western Cape High Court in August.
In the Fita matter, the court said it was persuaded by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma that the newness of the virus necessitated the government's drastic actions.
The court dismissed Fita's argument that cigarettes should be considered essential under the regulations and found the sales ban was rational.
“The fact that a substance is addictive does not render it essential. We, therefore, find no basis on which to interpret the level 5 regulations as permitting the sale of tobacco products,” the court said.
The sale of tobacco products has been banned since the beginning of the national lockdown in March.