The fine for the sale of tobacco products to minors has increased from R10 000 to R50 000 for a first offence, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Monday.
The minister was addressing crowds on World No Tobacco Day 2004 celebrations at Elandskraal Stadium in Marble Hall, Limpopo.
The international theme for this year is Tobacco Control and Poverty, while the South African theme is nationalised Tobacco and Family Health.
Tshabalala-Msimang outlined amendments to the Tobacco Control Amendment Act to mark the day. She said the changes will close some of the loopholes in the current Act and substantially increase fines for violations of smoking regulations.
”A strong tobacco control policy is important to protect and improve the health of our people. That is why we as government have taken a very firm stand to tighten our current tobacco legislation even further.
”Our aim is firstly to close the loopholes that have been abused particularly by tobacco companies. Secondly, we want to ensure that our legislation is in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control for our country to rectify this world health treaty.”
The minister said her department is proposing to increase the age limit for sale of tobacco products from 16 years to 18 years. Fines had been increased as a deterrent.
”Some establishments have been breaking the law with apparent impunity. This suggests the current fines are not acting as a sufficient deterrent because they are too low.
”We are therefore increasing the fines for individuals contravening the law from R200 to R500 for a first offence and up to R1 000 for a second offence.”
Tshabalala-Msimang said fines for an owner of an establishment (public place) that violates the law increases from R10 000 to R20 000 for a first offence. Subsequent fines can be up to R150 000.
The fine for advertising and promotion of tobacco products increases from R200 000 to R500 000 for a first offence. The fine will be up to R900 000 for subsequent offences.
Other provisions of the amendment Bill are to require larger health messages on cigarette packs, including picture messages; to ban false descriptions of tobacco products, such as ”low-tar,” ”light” and ”mild”; and to prohibit the presence of any child (that is, under 18 years) in a designated smoking area in a public place.
The health minister also highlighted the link between the use of tobacco and poverty.
”We believe tobacco affects the entire family in various ways, one of them through perpetrating poverty. Many studies have shown that in poor households in many low-income countries use as much as 10% of total household expenditure on tobacco.
”This means these families have less to spend on basic items as food, education and health care.”
In industrial settings, Tshabalala-Msimang said smoking poses additional dangers such as fires, while tobacco smoke is the most common pollutant of indoor air, and also affects non-smokers.
She highlighted the dangers of smoking to smokers and the enormous costs of treating tobacco-related diseases put on the health care system.
Meanwhile, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday that according to the World Health Organisation, there are 1,25-billion smokers worldwide.
That is one-third of the world’s population and most live in developing countries. — Sapa