Cape Town | Tuesday
WESTERN Cape director of public prosecutions Frank Kahn says he will not prosecute people for smoking in public places until ”sloppy draughtsmanship” in the law has been changed.
The issue has been highlighted by a charge laid by a Cape Town anti-tobacco activist over smoking in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in the city.
The docket has been forwarded to Kahn’s office for a decision on whether to prosecute.
However, Kahn said on Tuesday that reading Section 7.1 together with Section 2.1 of the Tobacco Products Control Act, it was ”clearly uncertain” whether smoking in a public place was an offence or not.
”As a lawyer I must be certain of the law before I prosecute anyone,” he said.
”Accordingly, until the act has been rectified I will not proceed under this section. I trust the Department of Health will rectify the matter as soon as possible.”
In August, police in the Western Cape were told by their legal adviser that a loophole in the act meant smokers could not be prosecuted for lighting up in public places.
The adviser said though the act forbade smoking in a public place, it did not specifically declare it an offence.
However, the Health Ministry, after getting a series of legal opinions, maintained that smokers could be prosecuted, and that the act provided a ”solid basis” for action.
It said, however, that in the interests of strengthening tobacco control initiatives, it would have an amendment bill before Parliament in the first half of next year.
”We will do what it takes to eradicate any and all excuses to circumvent this crucial public health measure,” said special adviser to the ministry Patricia Lambert. – Sapa