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We talked to Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, a member of the WHO’s study group on tobacco product regulation, about the 2025 WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, and the Tobacco Bill. (Vaping360/Flickr)

‘Vapes are safe alternatives to smoking’ — and other lies they tell us

With fewer people smoking cigarettes globally, the tobacco industry is using its well-honed tactics to increase sales of electronic devices like vapes and heated tobacco products

Vaping among young people has reached an all-time high,

New law: Protecting South Africans from tobacco is no foreign agenda

Big tobacco companies are the foreign entities planting misinformation to keep South Africans addicted as they put profit over the health of the population

New legislation seeks to stop tobacco companies from luring non-smoking teens into becoming addicted to their deadly products.

Big Tobacco’s profit addiction needs a quit plan

New legislation seeks to stop tobacco companies from luring non-smoking teens into becoming addicted to their deadly produc

The tobacco industry brings in 60% of Malawi’s foreign earnings and employs half a million people. (GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Smokes and mirrors: How Big Tobacco may have avoided Malawi’s taxman

Alliance One may have moved $4.2-million in taxable profits out of the country

Smoky business: According to tax returns, the dpeartment of psychiatry and mental health agreed to take R1-million from Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, which is funded by Phillip Morris International. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Big Tobacco’s R1m for UCT stubbed out

The university says it had no idea researchers had signed up to take Big Tobacco money but the decision could have lasting effects

Where there’s smoke: An investigation by anti-tobacco nonprofit the  Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids found companies were paying young influencers to secretly advertise cigarettes on social media. (Instagram)

A new smoke signal: Is Big Tobacco using influencers to illegally punt new products?

Could companies’ wooing of social media influencers be just a clever ploy to get around the country’s tobacco advertising ban?

An 8% above-inflation hike could mean South Africans would smoke 22-million fewer cigarette packs over a four-year period. (Ammar Awad)

#Budget2019: How this could have netted the country 17.1-billion — & saved lives

Find out why Mboweni’s R1.14 hike won’t be enough to cut smoking, save lives or bring in much-needed cash.

Do almost half of South African men really smoke? (Eric Gaillard)

Should you believe the latest smoking figures from this tobacco-funded non-profit?

Claim: 49% of men and 34.1% of women in South Africa smoke tobacco. Is this true? Africa Check investigates.

It’s time to take back the tax — by upping the tobacco tax. (Delwyn Verasamy)

Mboweni, take a chance and take back the tax — it’s time to hike tobacco taxes

In his speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni reprioritised millions for new health workers and hospital upgrades. Here’s what he needs to do next.

A spate of extreme weather events over the past few years will no doubt intensify the political pressure on fossil-fuel firms in coming years. (Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay)

Storm warning for the fossil-fuel industry

How oil and gas companies manage their growing political challenges will be just as important for their valuation as their day-to-day operations