A team of experts gathered at Unisa Graduate School of Business Leadership recently ahead of World No Tobacco Day 2019 on the 31st of May to discuss the myths and realities of health and the economy inherent in the tobacco debate and to unpack the draft Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill, which was gazetted for public comments last year and is due to be tabled before Parliament.
The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 falls on lung health. Deputy Director General at the National Department of Health, Yogan Pillay, says, “Tobacco exposure is a threat to lung health for everyone – not just smokers. Respiratory disease caused by tobacco is a leading killer around the world and especially in South Africa, where smoking-related TB deaths are prevalent due to a higher vulnerability of HIV-positive individuals to TB. Our National Strategic Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases has clear targets to reduce tobacco smoking. South Africa is already overburdened with entirely preventable diseases and tobacco is one of the major risk factors. The new Bill will go a long way to reducing the disease burden.”
Lynn Moeng-Mahlangu, Chief Director at the Department of Health, led a discussion on protecting the lungs of the next generation. “World No Tobacco Day is an ideal opportunity to focus on what must be done to make it easier for all South Africans to make the healthy choice and protect the majority of our population, who are non-smokers, from dangerous second-hand smoke. We need everyone to get involved and stand up for their rights to a healthy, smoke-free environment.”
Zanele Mthembu of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a global advocacy organisation that is working with the Department of Health and other partners, led a second panel on the war on tobacco in South Africa as experts including looked at how we stem the impact of a product that, annually, kills 42,100 people, costs the country over R59 million and threatens the health of children, pregnant women and non-smokers with toxic passive smoke.
The SA Demographic and Health Survey shows that tobacco smoking is more common among men than women, with 8% of women and 37% of men age 15 and older currently smoking tobacco products. The majority of smokers are daily smokers; 6% of women and 30% of men smoke every day, and most smoke cigarettes. “In South Africa, three times more people are killed by cigarettes than in road accidents. 550 men, that’s 50 football teams, die from tobacco every week. Yet, you could fill over 100 large stadiums with the 6.1 million adults who still smoke in our country,” says Mthembu. “Legislation and taxation have been proven to be the best ways to curb this epidemic.”
According to the World Health Organisation and local reports, active changes in tobacco control laws and raising tobacco taxes have contributed to a drop from around 38% of South Africans smoking in the mid-1990s to 22% today according to the South African Demographic Health Survey. However, South Africa’s smoking rates remain the highest on the continent – and trends show that these figures will increase over the next 15 years.
“While the impact of South Africa’s leadership and political will in tobacco control can be seen in how many of us enjoy smoke-free air compared to other countries, we still have a long way to go,” says Mthembu.
“Our current legislation was developed before new tobacco products including e-cigarettes, which have emerged as a toxic threat particularly targeting our youth, entered the market. The new bill addresses the loopholes and strengthens legislation to make sure we can not only stop the increase in tobacco use but actually, reduce it.”