South Africa launches the Tobacco Industry Interference (TII) Index to Spotlight Tobacco Control Policy Risks

The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS), together with the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) and the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM), launched the South Africa Tobacco Industry Interference (TII) Index 2025 in Pretoria on the 24th of June 2026. The index measures tobacco industry influence on policymaking and helps guide safeguards across government. South Africa’s national score remained unchanged at 64, ranking 56th out of 100 countries globally and 13th out of 20 African countries, with the highest levels of interference observed in conflicts of interest and government–industry interactions.

Using a 20-question, public scoring method aligned with WHO FCTC Article 5.3, the Index documents industry tactics; economic job arguments, illicit-trade narratives, direct lobbying, front groups, research funding, and corporate social responsibility that can distort public health decisions. The presentation also highlighted South Africa’s including an adult smoking prevalence of approximately 19% and an estimated 32,442 tobacco-attributable deaths.

Speakers stressed illicit trade as a driver of market dysfunction, estimating illicit cigarettes account for approximately 60% of consumption. They urged for the ratification of the Illicit Trade Protocol and the implementation of a track-and-trace system to restore enforcement capacity. National Treasury was reported to treat illicit trade primarily as a law‑enforcement issue rather than a consequence of excise tax increases.

Panel recommendations framed Article 5.3 as a whole-of-government governance issue and outlined near-term actions: adopt a government-wide code of conduct, mandate public disclosure of industry meetings and affiliations, publish registers of industry-linked entities, introduce cooling‑off rules for officials, ratify the Illicit Trade Protocol, and fast-track the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. NGOs were highlighted as immediate monitoring partners able to provide rapid background checks while formal registers are established.

Vimla Moodley, lead author of the report, said: “An unchanged score is not progress — it shows recurring vulnerabilities that require a government-wide code of conduct and mandatory transparency to protect public-health policymaking”.

NCAS encouraged civil society, researchers, and the media to use the tool to hold policymakers and the industry to account, and to support measures that strengthen transparency and protect tobacco control policymaking from undue commercial influence.

Check out some of the key findings of the SA Tobacco Industry Interference Index