“Protecting South Africans from tobacco is no foreign agenda” says the ATIM Director -Prof Lekan Ayo-Yusuf
Vaping among young people has reached an all-time high,
The passage of the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill is a decisive moment for public health in South Africa. Yet, as we edge closer to enacting life-saving legislation, a familiar narrative has emerged, one that is designed to sow confusion and delay progress.
Accusations suggesting that the drafting of this legislation is influenced by foreign NGOs are not only baseless but strategically designed to detract from the real issue at hand: protecting our people, especially youth, from the harmful effects of tobacco.
South Africa ratified the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005. The treaty obliges its signatories to adopt stringent public health measures and safeguard them from interference by the tobacco industry.
These obligations include consulting technical experts, researchers and civil society organisations to develop sound, evidence-based policies. This is not foreign meddling; it is the global standard for formulating robust tobacco control legislation.
The department of health led the drafting of the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, working through established channels. Stakeholders across sectors as well as the broader public have weighed in, and parliament will review every aspect of the bill before its passage.
The narrative that South Africa is ceding its policymaking to external agendas is nothing more than an industry-led distraction. It is designed to confuse, politicise and derail a procedurally sound process that aligns with our constitutional and international commitments.
For decades, the tobacco industry has relied on diversion tactics, questioning the integrity of organisations and individuals who are advocating for public health reforms. South Africa is merely the latest chapter in this global playbook. But make no mistake, this bill is neither a foreign imposition nor the product of external pressure. It is the culmination of years of evidence-based recommendations and domestic public input, aligned with South Africa’s sovereign obligations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The tobacco industry thrives not only on selling products that harm health but also on derailing policies that could save lives. Around the world, the industry has wielded its significant resources to manufacture doubt, discredit public health advocates and shift attention away from the substance of legislation — all to pave the way to profit from deadly tobacco and nicotine products, which include cigarettes, heated tobacco products and electronic cigarettes. Read more