South Africa's Proposed Tobacco Control: Smoke-Free Zones, Plain Packaging, and E-Cigarette Regulations

In South Africa, the Portfolio Committee on Health will hold public hearings on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill beginning on January 26, 2024, for three consecutive days. The bill aims to increase public health protection measures, link South African tobacco control law with the World Health Organization Framework Convention, and abolish the Tobacco Control Act of 1993.

The proposed legal and policy changes include designating indoor public places and certain outdoor areas as completely smoke-free zones, prohibiting the sale of cigarettes through vending machines, requiring plain packaging with health warnings and pictorial representations, prohibiting tobacco product point-of-sale displays, and implementing regulations for electronic nicotine delivery systems and non-nicotine alternatives.